Second Harvest Distributes 15K Pounds of Food to Local Residents

CAMPBELL, Ohio – A line of cars wrapped around Roosevelt Park on Thursday as hundreds of residents of Campbell, Lowellville, Struthers and Coitsville Township came to receive fresh food and produce. 

Andy Duraney, warehouse manager at Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, said they had about 15,000 pounds of food to give out. Items included watermelon, oranges, sweet potatoes, grapes, ketchup, garbanzo beans and milk.

“People started lining up around 10 a.m. this morning, and we started at 11 a.m.,” he said. 

Duraney said he was told by the park that some locals showed up even as early as 7 a.m.

“There is a huge need for distributions,” he said. “People are just very grateful. The people in line are thanking us immensely about giving them this opportunity to get fresh fruit and milk and things like that.”

This is the first food distribution Second Harvest has held in Campbell, Duraney said.

“Kids are out of school, [and] they don’t get the food sometimes that they need,” he said. “This is going to help out a lot of families.” 

Struthers Mayor Cat Cerone Miller, Campbell Mayor Bryan Tedesco, Campbell’s police and fire departments and other volunteers helped out at the event.

“I didn’t expect this many volunteers today, but they’re here, and I am grateful for it,” Duraney said. “The lines are going smoothly.”

Duraney said distribution events like this are essential to helping the community.

“Our mission is to help people, and we are helping a lot of people today, and they are very grateful for this,” he said. 

Tedesco said the city has a close relationship with the organization and is always ready to work to support the cause.

“This is all our family,” he said.

Tedesco said he and Miller try to attend similar events to support the community’s needs, as well. 

“We try to [do] whatever we could do,” he said. 

Tedesco and Miller said they plan to attend more events like this.

“We want more people to have food on their tables, and I know it’s a rough time right now,” Tedesco said. “Prices are up, and this is just a great thing to do for our people and all of the communities here.”

Miller said Tedesco called and told her about the joint project with Second Harvest and Campbell, Lowellville, Struthers and Coitsville.

“We’re both Italian,” she said. “We like to feed people. We like to get people food all the time, especially when there are so many people in need. This really helps out a lot of residents in our communities.”

Miller said they also do work with Southwoods Primary Care and United Way to deliver food to homes.

Miller said the issue for residents is often not having the money to be able to purchase food, and Second Harvest’s work is important because it doesn’t charge locals for the items.

“With costs going up on everything, Second Harvest really donating that to our residents is really big for all of us,” she said.

As a mayor, Miller said it is important to go out and actively participate in the work to lead by example.

“You want to be there and see the people you are helping and really have that impact, not just for other people, but for the workers to see us working and being there,” she said.

For more information about how to help out, visit secondharvestfoodbank.org.

Pictured at top: Struthers Mayor Cat Cerone Miller, left, and Campbell Mayor Bryan Tedesco help out at Second Harvest Food Bank’s distribution Thursday.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.