'Fill a Semi to Feed the Hungry' Drive Fills Hunger Task Force Pantry Shelves

The “Fill a Semi to Feed the Hungry” drive by area United Church of Christ congregations brought a haul of 3,620 pounds of food to the Stark County Hunger Task Force (SCHTF) just in time for the holidays.

Monday a crew of volunteers from Ladies Super Fitness on 30th St. NE, weighed and sorted more than a ton and a half of non-perishable food items delivered to the SCHTF facilities in the Community Campus at Goodwill, 408 9th St. SW. The food was distributed to SCHTF network pantries.

In conjunction with National Hunger Awareness month the drive blasted off during the Trinity United Church of Christ Fall Festival October 13 at 8108 Manchester Rd. in Canal Fulton.

During the four-week drive, the semi trailer collected non-perishable food items with stops at Trinity United Church of Christ, Canal Fulton; St. John’s United Church of Christ, 101 Tremont Ave. SE, Massillon; Fisher Foods, 4401 W Tuscarawas St., and Grace United Church of Christ, 2300 Cleveland Ave. NW.

The Ladies Super Fitness crew included Olga Matthews, Brigitte Stephen, Colleen Kempf, Hope Krise, Tina Krise, Brenda Meyers, Cathy Theodore, Audrey Wilhelm, Desiree Patapanian and Tina Brown. They were assisted with the heavy lifting by another volunteer, William Conrad of Canton.

Stark County Hunger Task Force officials report nearly one in six Stark County residents suffers food insecurity; alarmingly, the county’s child food insecurity rate is 25.2 percent, and 10 percent of seniors are food insecure – all higher than the national averages.

SCHTF welcomes community partners and individuals interested in supporting the local fight against hunger with fundraising activities or food drives. For more information, call 330-455-6667 or visit SCHTF on-line at www.starkhunger.org.

Founded in 1981, Stark County Hunger Task Force leads the battle against hunger in Stark County. SCHTF feeds some 22,000 individuals and families every month through its pantry network, “Backpacks for Kids” programs, an emergency pantry and mobile pantry services.