LUCAS, Ohio—Members of the Lucas Leo Club presented the Lucas Area Food Pantry with a check in the amount of $1,217.20 Saturday at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church.
The generous donation will go toward the purchase of food for those in need, said Jan Grubaugh, who runs the pantry with her husband, Bill Grubaugh.
Housed in Mt. Zion Church, the pantry serves primarily residents of Mifflin, Monroe and Washington townships. However, Jan Grubaugh noted, “We feed anyone in need.”
The pantry is facilitated by 40 volunteers on average. Jan Grubaugh estimated that between 60 and 70 people volunteered Saturday to help with the distribution of food. With their assistance, Jan Grubaugh said they could feed up to 240 families, which equates to 800-900 people.
Families were able to choose which food they wanted and volunteers were on-hand to help them stock their carts and bags and then carry the items to their vehicles.
A smorgasbord of food was sprawled out on tables. Jan Grubaugh noted, “We try to concentrate on fresh vegetables and fruit to help keep our clients healthy.”
She said the pantry is funded by donations from six local churches: Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Pleasant Valley Lutheran Church, Little Washington Congregational Church, Lucas Foursquare Gospel Church and Grace Bible Church. In addition to the church donations, the pantry receives donations from community members.
Charles Mill Marina for the past two years has held a food drive for the pantry. They collected enough items to fill a pontoon boat—literally. “They brought a pontoon boat to the church that was filled with canned goods,” Jan Grubaugh said.
She said another woman who works at a local gas station has been able to give the pantry $100 a month by simply placing a jar on the cashier counter, allowing people to donate spare change to the pantry.
“So many people in the community support us,” she said.
That includes the Leo Club, which has held at least five fundraisers for the pantry in recent years.
Jan Grubaugh noted that the retail value of each donation they receive is 15 times the amount given if they were to purchase the food from a retailer, but they purchase their food from the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
Members of the Leo Club’s eyes widened when they’re realized their donation of $1,217.10 is comparable to $18,258 worth of food purchased from a retailer.
“That’s a big deal what you guys are doing for us,” said Grubaugh to the students.
“I didn’t know all that was given would add up to that much,” remarked Leo Club member Toree Lehnhart. Lehnhart and Connor Pollard, another Leo Club member, were on-hand to present the check to the pantry and help with the distribution of the food items.
The Lucas High School juniors said they enjoy helping at the pantry. “Every time there’s a huge amount of people that come,” noted Pollard.
Leo Club is sponsored by the Lucas Lions Club.
Dan Stotts, Leo Club advisor, said that the club’s donation to the pantry was raised through their recent “Christmas Spectacular” craft show.
Stotts, who also serves as the Lucas Lions Club secretary, said Leo Club has approximately 20 members who are in seventh through twelfth grade.
“They help us with Lions Club projects and they have their own projects, too,” he said.
Among the volunteers who helped hand out food Saturday was Naomi Knipp, 16. She said she first served at the pantry through the Richland County 4-H program and liked it so much that she came back on her own to serve. She said simply, “It’s fun.”
Similarly, Jake Heimberger of Lucas said he got involved in the food pantry through a school project and has been helping volunteer since then. “I like meeting people and seeing the smile on their faces and knowing that I got to help out,” he said.
