Community supports Dublin Food Pantry as SNAP benefits run dry

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) -- More than a million Ohioans who receive SNAP benefits are preparing to lose those benefits if the shutdown is not resolved by Nov. 1. This leaves local food pantries in a rush to prepare for an influx of visitors.

It’s all hands on deck to keep the shelves stocked at the Dublin Food Pantry. It’s a challenging time as they work to keep up with demand but an act of kindness was enough to keep them optimistic.

“I've been a resident for over 30 years. I have never seen such an outpouring of support for our community and those that are struggling in our community than I've seen in the last 48 hours,” said Julie Erwin Rinaldi, Executive Director of the Dublin Food Pantry.

That extra pressure is already being felt.

“We're seeing an increase of people who are coming who may not be getting paid because of the shutdown. We're seeing people who have lost their jobs because of the economy,” Rinaldi said.

She said the generosity of the community is what’s keeping volunteers positive. A local meal delivery service, Fit Fresh, donated 112 gallons of milk.

“I was coming in when they were unloading the milk and our volunteers were so excited because they love to be able to help people and we had not gotten fresh milk in so long,” said Rinaldi.

The owner of Fit Fresh, John Paton, posted about the donation on social media. It caught the attention of many and people from Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and beyond pitched in. He raised around $900.

“Knowing that folks kind of from all over the Midwest have chipped in to help this get going, really makes you realize there's a lot of really wonderful folks in the world that want to take care of people,” Paton said.

The milk donation went fast but that’s not the end of it. Paton says the money raised is enough to donate half a pallet of milk every week through Thanksgiving.

“If more donations come in, we'd love to do it all the way through Christmas just to make it easier for folks to get through the holiday season,” he said.

Rinaldi said they will be accepting all of the help they can get.

“The best way that the folks can help is basically giving monetary donations, because that goes a lot further than the food donation. Of course, we love getting food donations, don't get me wrong, but a monetary donation goes a lot further because we can buy things at wholesale,” she said.

Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order Thursday which provides $25 million in food assistance to Ohioans.

Facilitated through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, $7 million will be distributed to food banks, and $18 million will go to 63,000 Ohioans at or below 50% of the federal poverty level as part of the Ohio Works First program.

The release did not specify which Ohio food banks will receive funding.

Learn more about how to contribute to the Dublin Food Pantry here.