Dear Friends,
At the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, it’s all hands on deck. Time and time again, we have seen the strength of this community in the face of challenges. As we face the new challenge of the Coronavirus, we are committed to working together with you to ensure that food reaches people needing assistance.
During Governor DeWine’s recent news conference, we learned that all Ohio schools will be closing for a minimum of three weeks. Many of the hard-working families we serve live paycheck to paycheck. They are now facing the additional hardship of children staying home and missing school meals and the need for childcare since many do not have paid time off. We are working with our network of 500 hunger-relief programs to address their food needs and are exploring alternative methods to distribute food.
We continue in our efforts to meet the needs of our community, but we need your help.
DONATE: Your financial support is needed to continue the work of distributing food to people in need. In an effort to meet the needs of our community, we are focusing on emergency distribution, including senior and family boxes of food. $1 can help provide 4 nourishing meals. Donate online now at akroncantonfoodbank.org/donate or call 330.535.6900 to make your gift today.
VOLUNTEER: We are committed to the highest standard of food safety and personal safety for our volunteers. Our volunteer workforce is vital to our hunger-relief efforts and are needed to assist in the packing of food boxes for distribution. Although we are limiting group sizes for your safety and the safety of staff, we hope to book every possible shift. This is a great time for student groups to come help us out. We can’t do this work without you, so if you’re healthy and willing to volunteer, please sign up today at akroncantonfoodbank.org/volunteer.
Thank you for your support in these efforts.
Stay Strong As we continue in our mission to feed people facing hunger, we are acutely aware of the need to protect the safety and well-being of our clients, hunger-relief partners, volunteers and staff. Here are some steps that YOU can take:
- Please do not come to volunteer if you have virus or flu-like symptoms, such as excessive coughing, vomiting, diarrhea or fever.
- Keep your hands clean by regularly washing in hot water and soap for a minimum of 20 seconds. This is especially important after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing into your hand or using the restroom.
- Follow the recommendations of the CDC for ways to prevent illness.
Thank you for your continued support. Together we are strong; together we will overcome this pandemic! It is our duty and responsibility to serve this community, and we hope you’ll stand with us.
Dan Flowers
P.S. Visit the COVID-19 page on our website for updates as more information becomes available.