Oberlin IGA customers rush to buy baking supplies for families in need

OBERLIN — Pre-filled shopping bags filled with supplies needed to make cookies — flour, sugar, vegetable oil and chocolate chips — are flying off the shelves at Oberlin IGA. But the $10 kits aren't going home with the customers that pay for them. Instead, they're going across town to Oberlin Community Services. The nonprofit will give out the dessert bags Dec. 22 as part of its holiday food giveaway. About 250 families signed up before the deadline and will get help putting a meal on the table. OCS Food Services Coordinator Liv Hanson said families will get a turkey or ham, stuffing, gravy, corn, green bean casserole ingredients, potatoes, onions, milk, butter, eggs and more. "We want to give everybody a full holiday meal," she said. Oberlin IGA owner Leo Braido, who previously served on the OCS board, said customers have stepped up to support the effort by paying for items that Second Harvest Food Bank typically doesn't provide. About 40 bags sold Tuesday, the first day they were made available, he said. One Kendal at Oberlin resident paid for 20 bags, and an area educator who shops at the grocery store committed to buying one on every visit. "I delivered a whole vanload of bags there this morning," Braido said Wednesday. When he bought the store in 2014, Braido told the Oberlin City Club he moved to town to make a living, but also to make a difference. He feels strongly about helping those in need, because he's been in their shoes. "When I was a child growing up, I lost my father at a young age and we were very poor," he said. "So I've been there, I've had the needs that Oberlin Community Services clients have had. As long as I'm on this earth, I'm going to do everything I can to help people as much as I can." Hanson said the need for assistance leveled off this summer, but has since skyrocketed. IGA will continue to sell the $10 food bags through Sunday, Dec. 20. Residents can also make financial donations to OCS at www.oberlincommunityservices.org or by check to Oberlin Community Services, 285 South Professor St., Oberlin, OH 44074. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.