Second Harvest Thanksgiving food distribution central part of holiday for recipients, volunteers alike

ELYRIA— In the fourth year of Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio's Thanksgiving food distribution, nearly 2,000 Lorain County families received the holiday meal they will gather around on Thursday. The event on Saturday took over several parking lots at Lorain County Community College, as dozens of volunteers in neon vests worked in unison to move thousands of people and cars through their assembly line-like food bank. In all, Second Harvest President and CEO Julie Chase-Morefield said that the distribution served 1,966 families totaling 8,398 people. She said 61 percent of the families served have children. This year's distribution saw slightly fewer recipients than the previous two years — the event broke 2,000 families in 2022 and 2023 — but Chase-Morefield said that the need for food among Lorain County families is as great as ever. "We've been talking a lot about how from previous years the need (for food banks) is up about 32 percent, that just is not changing," Chase-Morefield said. "And one of our big concerns is just not being able to have the food and resources we need to meet the need." Lorain-based Second Harvest serves residents in Crawford, Erie, Huron and Lorain counties and began its now annual Thanksgiving food distributions in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Sam Flores, Second Harvest's director of program and partner services, said that Lorain County's distribution is always the largest, thanks in part to buy-in from the community. "Leading up to the season there's always a bit of anxiety as far as are we gonna have enough food, are we gonna have enough volunteers," she said. "But there's so much support for this one in particular, it's our largest (distribution) by far. … It's a daunting figure to say OK, we're going to bring 2,000 turkeys and distribute them, but the college has been great, the partnership with the city and the police has been really great and we have enough volunteers." The largest single group of volunteers on Saturday came from LCCC, which has now hosted the event for three years after the first Thanksgiving distribution was held at the Midway Mall. Marisa Vernon-White, LCCC vice president of enrollment management and student services, said that the college provided around 50 volunteers for the event. "We're central to our community, and we know that," she said. "Most of the individuals and the families that we serve are from this area, and so events like today help us be in touch with individuals who are actually in our community. And then it's part of giving back. The community has given a lot to the college, and a lot of support to the college and this is one of the ways that we like to be able to give back to the community and engage with people. It's a great fit for us." Vernon-White added that connecting with parents and families at events like the Thanksgiving food distribution has opened up discussions about how LCCC can help people advance their careers and education. One of the LCCC volunteers was Stephany Barhorst, an advocacy and resource specialist for the college, who was joined by her husband, Brad. The Barhorsts, of North Ridgeville, have been volunteering for the Thanksgiving food bank for several years. "We just love doing this every year," Brad Barhorst said. "It feels good to help and it's one of our favorite parts of the holiday now." Flores said that most of the volunteers who worked on Saturday have come back from previous years, drawn by the fun atmosphere and opportunity to serve and connect with their neighbors. "We are a people-focused organization, our business is people," she said. "That goes on lots of different fronts. (There's) the neighbors we serve, but also the volunteers that we rely on, and not just around the holidays. Where other food banks may be struggling with volunteers, we have lots of volunteers who visit us once and choose to come back, and the same with this distribution. People love coming back. I mean the weather was crappy this morning, people still got out of bed, saw the rain and said 'OK.'" Another part of being "people focused" means responding to the needs and wants of the community, Chase-Morefield said. This year, Second Harvest did that by offering pork as well as turkey as the main protein in Thanksgiving kits. Pork, rather than turkey, is the traditional Thanksgiving main dish for many Latino families, and Chase-Morefield said that the new offering was an attempt to better serve Lorain County's large Latino population. "Just trying to find something a little different, because we want to be responsive to the communities that we serve," she said. Chase-Morefield said that the Thanksgiving distribution is different from any other mobile food bank Second Harvest does; not just because of its size, but also because of the way it brings people together and serves their family traditions. "We never did Thanksgiving distributions before the pandemic," she said. "But the response we get every year, how appreciative people are about being able to bring their families together and have a meal. I think coming out of the pandemic and just people wanting to be close and have that togetherness. Maybe we didn't appreciate it as much before, but we do now." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.