It’s a little past 8am. Wrapped around the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank’s Stark County Campus is a line of community members waiting for the doors to open. Inside, volunteers and staff members are stocking the shelves of the Keith D. Monda Family Food Pantry.
The pantry has been serving the community each Tuesday and Wednesday since the Stark County Campus opened in August 2021. The Foodbank anticipated serving 100 families per week, but because of inflation, more than 600 families arrive each week to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy products, canned goods and other groceries. Operating as a choice pantry, neighbors in need can shop the shelves and choose the groceries they want, or groceries can be ordered online and picked up. Giving people the choice to choose their own groceries offers them dignity during a difficult time in their lives.
Everyone has a different reason for visiting the Foodbank. Simone, 69, has struggled with homelessness for the past few years. “I got to know the Foodbank when I didn’t get my social security. I had to go to different pantries to supplement my income and to have something to eat,” she says outside the pantry doors.
No matter a person’s story, when they visit the pantry, they know they can receive a shopping cart of nourishing groceries and a warm smile. Inside the pantry is the Aultman Health Foundation Resource Room, offering services beyond food like legal aid, health screenings, job readiness support and much more.