A simple Girl Scout project to earn a badge quickly became much more when Sally’s granddaughter, Arielle, discovered a need for a hunger-relief program in Louisville.
“After she held a food drive at a local park, it occurred to us that there wasn’t a place in our area to take the food that had been donated,” said Sally. “So, my daughter Amy, being as industrious as she is, decided that we should start something.”
Sally serves as the director of the Louisville Community Cupboard, a food pantry that opened nearly 20 years ago.
“We’ve come a long way since the beginning,” Sally said. “When we started, we served probably 25 families per distribution.” Nowadays, Louisville Community Cupboard feeds more than 100 families at each distribution.
Working in Louisville City Schools before retirement, Sally said she was always aware of food insecurity in the area. “It doesn’t matter to me what the situation is,” Sally said. “If they are here and need food, that’s a good enough reason for me.”
Sally said she’s passionate about hunger-relief efforts because she can relate to her neighbors who visit the pantry. “My husband was in the Army and we lived overseas. We didn’t have very much at all, so I know the pain of what that is like,” she said.
But with the help of her supportive community and the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, Sally can help alleviate that pain for other families.
“I think the Foodbank does a good job of working with us to make sure things run smoothly for our programs. Between donations from our community and the items we pick up from the Foodbank, our clients get a lot of really great food.”
Thank you for helping alleviate the difficult choices families are often forced to make, like choosing between groceries, rent, utilities, childcare and more. You are the difference between hunger and hope for so many!