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Church in Cornersburg reaches out to help needy
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Charlie Granger of Austintown holds a bucket in front of the Walmart in Austintown for donations to Zion Luthern Church to help feed the needy.
YOUNGSTOWN
The face of poverty in the Mahoning Valley is changing quickly, but a caring congregation is trying to meet the rising demand for food.
Pam Raeburn, coordinator of food distribution at Zion Luth-eran Church in Cornersburg, said she’s seen that need triple in the 12 years she’s headed up the program.
It used to be that folks who needed a hand up were unemployed or homeless, she said. Today, people who earn minimum wage or are retired are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, given the upward-creeping gas and food prices, she explained.
The church budget hasn’t been able to meet the demand for some time, so volunteers canvass the community, accepting donations of food, money and supplies.
“There were times I literally cried because I had to turn people away because I had nothing left on the [pantry] shelf,” Raeburn said.
Late last year, the Brookings Institution released statistics showing Youngstown has the highest concentrated poverty rate among core cities in the United States’ 100 largest metropolitan areas.
Zion Lutheran has long played a vital role in community outreach in the area. It has handed out food for more than 20 years, served holiday meals for the less fortunate and given out more than 900 bags of groceries and 550 hams and turkeys around the holidays.
Raeburn said people in the community “have really reached deep into their pockets” despite the hard economic times.
The church will benefit from $1 million in grants that Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley is set to receive from the Walmart Foundation Fighting Hunger Together Facebook campaign.
Zion Lutheran’s food ministry allows businesses and individuals to adopt a family in need for $25 per month as part of its “Wipe Out Hunger — Rally In Our Valley” campaign.
Church volunteer John Prokop of Boardman said $25 could feed a family of four for a week. For every dollar donated, the church is able to get $15 in groceries through Second Harvest.
Raeburn said Zion Lutheran’s food program serves people in ZIP codes 44511, 44509 and 44515, but that no one is turned away.
Volunteers also have set up collection tables at Walmart and Sam’s Club, collecting hundreds of dollars that Prokop said “turn into a whole lot of food.”
Roberta Young of Youngstown said she and her husband, Robert, work but found themselves in need after gaining custody of two grandchildren a couple of years ago.
Stretching their income to feed four people can be overwhelming, Young said, but added “this helps us out so much.”
Food distribution is every third Saturday of the month at the church. For information, call 330-792-4046. To donate, send a check payable to Zion Lutheran Church, 3300 Canfield Road, Youngstown, OH 44511. Donations also are accepted at all Save-A-Lot and IGA stores owned by Henry Nemenz.