Celebrating service: Second Harvest Food Bank makes history
Volunteers and organizers with the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley were recognized for outstanding service to the Youngstown community.
Helping veterans
Second Harvest Food Bank, part of Feeding America, hosted a distribution at the Carl Nunziato VA Clinic for the first time.
Over 200 veterans were served at this first produce distribution, and the food bank plans to have produce distributions once a month in the future.
Second Harvest has distributed over 50,000 pounds of food to veterans in the Youngstown community.
“Many of our vets are on a fixed income. There’s never enough to cover the cost of living. To have the ability to come here with Second Harvest to provide food is very important,” said Nunziato, who is also on the Second Harvest’s board.
Second Harvest said he was instrumental in bringing the VA Clinic and its food pantry to life.
The food distribution also marked the first anniversary of the operation of the VA Clinic on Belmont Avenue.
“[Second Harvest] is the first food pantry in the country where a Feeding America food bank and a Veteran’s Clinic have an in-house food pantry. They’re seeing about 180 people a month that they’re helping with that food, so that’s very significant,” said Second Harvest Executive Director Mike Iberis.
In 2022, Second Harvest Food Bank distributed over 9.5 million pounds of food, including 2.8 million pounds of produce.
Mahoning County Probate Judge Robert Rusu, Jr. gave a special proclamation on his appreciation for the food bank, its volunteers and its donors.
“What’s one thing that’s common with everybody, we all have to eat... And when people don’t have that food service, the food security, it becomes very problematic in a lot of other areas of their life. We appreciate what Second Harvest continues to do on a daily basis,” said Rusu.
Visit their website or Facebook page to learn about volunteer opportunities and distribution schedules.
To learn about volunteer opportunities and distribution schedules, visit their website or Facebook page.
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