Staff Reports
NORTH VERNON — Families in need of food found only closed doors when they went for help at the Good Samaritan Food Pantry on Tuesday.
“We had to close because of a lack of volunteers. It is the first time since our doors opened in 2007 that we didn’t have enough volunteers to give food out, “ said Ginger Miller, the Director of the food pantry. “We had the food the people needed, we just didn’t have enough volunteers to distribute the food.”
Food is distributed at the pantry Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and six to 10 volunteers are needed each day.
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Miller explained that while the need for food assistance has increased because of COVID-19, the amount of working volunteers has decreased at the food pantry.
Staying safe during from the threat of COVID-19 has also created additional challenges for the pantry.
All volunteers are tested for a fever when they first come in for their shift. Masks are worn throughout the building and social distancing is observed.
Safety concerns have also created the demand for more volunteers. For example, extra volunteers are needed to carry food boxes as now clients are not allowed into the building.
“We go to a lot of extra work to make sure both our clients and our volunteers stay safe from COVID,” Miller said.
On Wednesday, Miller’s own 15-year-old grandson Tyler Houser spent his day out of the house at the pantry where he handed boxes of food to waiting clients through an open window.
Miller laughed as she said Houser commented, “It’s better than a workout at the gym.”
Miller said economic problems caused by COVID shutdowns and the approaching holiday season have increased the demand for food assistance.
“The closer we get to Thanksgiving, the more requests we will have for food,” she said.
The pantry served 100 more families in October than in September, and Miller said she expects to serve at least 800 families in November.
“We have volunteers that are very loyal and come every day they are scheduled. We have one volunteer, Lena Lovegrove who is 80 years old and hasn’t missed even one day since we started,” Miller said. “We need volunteers of all ages to do a varieties of jobs.”
In addition to the need for volunteers to help directly with the distribution of food, there is also a need for helpers behind the scenes.
Great loads of food are delivered to the pantry from Gleaners Food Bank and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Individuals are needed to unload the food and stack it on shelves.
“Then we need volunteers to take the food off the shelves and pack it into boxes to give it away,” Miller said. “We need people to do paper work or to do cleaning. We need drivers to pick up things from around town.”
In addition to the routine tasks at the Good Samaritan Food Pantry, staff and volunteers will also be helping with additional Holiday events.
Miller is leading an annual effort to outfit over 100 children with a complete set of clothing.
The food pantry staff and volunteers will also assist with the Joy of Giving annual food give-away event at the Jennings County Fairgrounds on Dec. 5.
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The Good Samaritan Food Pantry is located at 2250 Highway 7 in North Vernon. For more information or to volunteer, call 812-352-0500.
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