KeyBridge: Working together to help feed the hungry

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Lisa

Hunger. It doesn’t stop for the holidays. It’s the time of year when we give thanks for our blessings at Thanksgiving, then go into the “Season of Giving.” However, the hungry have little to celebrate.

According to the West Ohio Food Bank, an organization that provides food to more than 170 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters throughout 11 counties in Western Ohio, many hungry people have to choose between food and other necessities.

• 44% of clients served by the West Ohio Food Bank report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel.
• 36% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage.
• 35% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.
• 25% had to choose between paying for food and paying for transportation.
• 45% had to choose between paying for food and paying for gas for a car.

The KeyBridge team wants to help. This year, in exchange for having December 24^th off (thanks Scott!) we are asking each employee to bring in a non-perishable food item to be donated to Harvest for the Hungry.  A box will be in place in our training room to collect these donations through December 20^th.

What is Harvest for the Hungry?

The seeds for Harvest for the Hungry were sown in 1991 when the youth of (then) Shawnee United Methodist Church began collecting canned goods during a Sunday night Youth Meeting. The overwhelming response and growing need sparked an initiative to find a more systematic way of meeting the need.

As a result, Harvest for the Hungry officially began in 1994, when it was discovered that the West Ohio Food Bank could purchase food for pennies a pound and then distribute it to those in need more efficiently than any other group was able.

Harvest for the Hungry is a massive annual fundraiser for The West Ohio Food Bank. Several churches, businesses and individuals in Allen County, Ohio, want provide food for over 45,000 needy individuals in the Lima area. KeyBridge looks forward to being part!

All year long, day-in and day-out, the KeyBridge Difference describes how our team of professionals works hard to take care of each of our clients and patients that count on us to be there. We not only enjoy serving them, we also enjoy reaching out and working together in a variety of ways to make a difference in our community. This year, we also encourage you to look up, look around, and make a difference in the lives of others around you who are less fortunate.

We want to help those who are hungry.  Whose life could you make a difference in this season?