“We feed lots of families around town and those families very much appreciate your generous donations” shared Mr. Brenner as he addressed the students of Main Street Preschool. The students collected a total of 45 jars of jelly along with other non-perishable goods and walked their donations up to The Needy Basket on the chilly Friday morning of November 19th.
The Needy Basket was started in 1946 and at that time just served 4 families in town. It has been a mainstay of the community ever since. The Needy Basket currently services 547 households and the projected total for the year is 813 households, all to be supported by the Needy Basket. This is a 55% increase in the number of needy families year over year. The needs of the hungry in our community has never been greater.
Main Street Preschool teachers accompanied the students on their way to and from the Needy Basket, helping them to understand the plight of the families and children who need this food very badly. Each child was able to personally stock up a shelf with their donated non-perishable goods. The children learned that families are not able to choose the food that they will receive, but that the Needy Basket employees make sure that they have a bit of everything to provide them with nutritious foods to eat. Families with special needs children or those with allergies are allowed to indicate what products they can and cannot eat and the Needy Basket does what they can to accommodate every request. On top of non-perishable food products the Needy Basket has a cooler for fruits and veggies as well as a small stock of bath and personal hygiene items.
Operating hours for families needing assistance are
Monday 10AM to noon
Wednesday 10AM to noon and 3PM until 5PM
Friday 3PM to 5:30PM
Any resident within the service area may apply for help if he or she can provide:
- Proof of residence, and;
- Certify that total household income is less than the poverty level for a household of their size, as shown in Ohio tables published in July of each year.
