Second Harvest kicks off 2026 'Harvest For Hunger' donation campaign

LORAIN — Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio kicked off its 2026 "Harvest for Hunger" campaign on Thursday with an appeal to the public and its partners to feed their Lorain, Erie, Huron and Crawford county neighbors in need. This year's theme is "100 percent local, 100 percent impact," where donations will go directly to serve the communities they come from. This year's goal is to bring in enough donations to provide 3.9 million meals, 100,000 more than last year. Every $1 collected can provide six meals, according to Second Harvest. Those meals would be served by the 125 food banks, hot meal programs and shelters Second Harvest serves. Of those, 88 are in Lorain County. "Remember who we are serving: Our neighbors," Second Harvest President & CEO Julie Chase-Morefield said Thursday. An increase in tax bills or rent, a car or mortgage payment could mean someone going without meals, she reminded campaign supporters. "So many people are close to a crisis and not able to afford food," Chase-Morefield said, from children to working adults to retirees and the elderly. "This is why we do the work we do." The 2026 campaign's "Honorary Champions" are the 13 clubs of Rotary District 6600, serving north central and northwest Ohio. District Governor Pam Brumbaugh said "hungry kids don't do well in school." "Rotary is all in" this year, she said. "Together we can change more lives." Giant Eagle is a corporate partner in the donation drive said Steve Loescher, senior store leader at the Giant Eagle in Amherst. He said Giant Eagle stores in the Second Harvest service region raised $218,000 in 2025 through the "Check Out Hunger" donation drive at its store checkout lanes and GetGo locations. The six Giant Eagle stores in Lorain County — Amherst, Avon Lake, Elyria, North Ridgeville, Sheffield and Vermilion — and associated GetGo gas stations collected $130,000 of that, Loescher said. That drive runs through May 20, and the money collected "all stays local," Loescher said. It's about "giving what you can, when you can. Because it matters," he said. Now in its 35th year, Harvest for Hunger is a collaboration between Second Harvest, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley. The 2025 campaign collected more than $624,000 and provided 3.8 million meals, Second Harvest Board of Directors Chairwoman Lisa Brown said. That happened "because of you," she told the crowd of supporters. This year? "We. Can. Do. This," Second Harvest board member Marcus Harris said. He encouraged even small donations and school- or community group-driven donation drives, because "it doesn't have to be a grandiose gesture." To donate, volunteer or learn more about Second Harvest and its mission, visit Second Harvest's "Harvest For Hunger" page on their website, SecondHarvestFoodBank.org. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.