No need to be hungry

Column

The holiday season sees an uptick in our awareness of the plight of the folks who get by on minimal comforts, such as food and shelter. We, who are blessed, suddenly open our eyes to the needs of those less blessed and we make ourselves feel better by offering little bits of hope.

​I’ve never gone hungry. I'm lucky.

​Over the years, working on stories about people who are hungry and the people who seek to help feed those who are hungry has given me a little insight into understanding what it means to be in need.

​There are people who are hungry. And they are our neighbors sometimes. It may or may not have been bad choices that got them into this position, but hunger is way more complicated than that. Luckily there are many who wear their hearts on their sleeve and work to help those folks all year round.

This past week, I had a few chances to see this giving in action. 

Fay Corley is the director of the Titusville Area Food Bank. She is a matter-of-fact sort of person who doesn't care how many organizations there are trying to help make sure people are fed. "We are never in competition, we are just here to feed people," she said. The Titusville food bank typically gives out over 40 monthly boxes of food and they service about 324 households in some way. 

She is confident they are fulfilling the community's needs but admitted they get new clients each month. She says local organizations are generous and they take what comes in and immediately get it where it needs to go. "If the money comes in, we buy (food.) Whatever comes in goes right back out."

The food bank is sandwiched between two second-hand stores. One sells everything for a few coins, while the other has a few higher-marked items. The money helps keeps the doors open at the 100% volunteer-run organization. 

Down the road less than a mile is Associated Charities. Their executive director is Cricket Wencil-Tracey. She said many of the same things. The organization serves around 120 families in Crawford, Venango, Forest and Warren counties. They too have a thrift store where they sell or give away items to those in need. 

​They are associated with Second Harvest Food Bank and recently had a food drive. They pass out food three times a week and work with clients in need all the time. Wencil-Tracey said they accept donations and are always looking for personal hygiene items. She also said monetary donations are always accepted and put toward the directed needs of the community.

Community Services also offers need-based programs beyond county lines. This past weekend, they held their 32nd annual Friends for Food campaign give away at the Rocky Grove Volunteer Fire Department. They gave out over 1,100 turkeys and vouchers for holiday meals from a local supermarket. It was open to residents in Venango and Forest counties. 

Over the years I've covered holiday meals and watched the faces of volunteers, many of whom have been on the receiving end of the kindness at some point in their life, and watched the connections between them. It is in this exchange, if we could bottle it and send to Washington, that we truly see the meaning of humanity.