Through the month of September, every bank serving Harrison County has teamed up with every food pantry to build the “Bridge to Nutrition.” That “bridge” takes the form of regular food donation drives with that for September called “Fall Into Giving.”
As Dolores Yoke, President of the Mustard Seed food pantry explained, “the need is crazy and it is growing” as more households struggle to obtain healthy food.
She discussed how the pantries used to partner with the United States Postal Service employee union, but their budget for such efforts was cut back. Harrison County Bank stepped forward first, asking “how can we help?” They agreed to take non-perishable food donations at its branches. When asked to join, every other bank in Harrison County followed suit.
Donations will be accepted through this coming Saturday, September 26.
“There’s not a collaboration like this in Harrison County,” she noted. Yoke explained that the donations received at the bank branches will be gathered together and then equally distributed among the 19 food pantries in Harrison County, including the Lord’s Pantry in Shinnston.
She stated that at least one bank asked if “we can do it longer (because) no one’s ever done anything like this before.” Donors need not have an account at the bank to stop in and donate.
Community banks operate differently than financial entities that operate on a national or even a global scale, such as Wells Fargo, J. P. Morgan, or Bank of America. Smaller in scale and scope, community banks only invest in the communities from which they take deposits.
Yoke explained that “they are the businesses that have the pulse of the community, often before the community knows it.” She added that community banks usually step up first to help address community needs or support projects of need.
“We are trying to make better nutrition possible,” said Yoke.
Most needed items include canned vegetables, fruits, and meats, cans of soup, stew, or chili, peanut butter, jelly, boxed pasta, jars of pasta sauce, rice, instant potatoes, dry beans and lentils, breakfast cereal and oatmeal, shelf-stable and powdered milk, crackers and granola bars. Special requests include can openers, gluten-free foods, and baby food and formula.
Banks participating include: Chase Bank, City National Bank, Clear Mountain Bank, First Guaranty Bank, Freedom Bank, Harrison County Bank, Home Federal Credit Union, Huntington Bank, Justice Federal Credit Union, MVB, West Union Bank.
Most participating financial institutions are community banks, but some are either larger scale banks or credit unions. All deserve commendation for stepping forward and helping out.