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Raymond Ogburn helps run the Feed My Sheep food pantry in Mineral, Ohio, west of Athens. Ogburn is the minister of the Faith Believers' Ministry, which he said has been in operation for 12 years, operating the Feed My Sheep food pantry for the past seven.
"We're feeding somewhere around 300 families per month," he said. "We're open every Monday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m."
People can come from anywhere in Athens County once per month to get food. The number of families seeking assistance has been on the rise over the past several years, Ogburn confirmed. He said that more people are coming because benefits from government agencies such as Athens County Job & Family Services have run out for some of them, and others are coming because they've lost their jobs and have no other choice.
Even people who receive benefits from the government sometimes still can't make it through the month on what they receive, he said, so they have to turn to food pantries for help.
"You might make a certain amount but you still need a little bit of help," he said. "So we make up boxes separate that we call a necessity box... I don't want to see any kids going hungry."
Ogburn said that this food assistance can be everything to the people they help.
"If you're on unemployment and your unemployment runs out and you've got three kids and no jobs, a food box once per month (can be a big help)," he said. "I wish we could do more."
He said the church operates its pantry on donations and purchases products from the food bank in Logan for 18 cents per pound.
"We have to pay for it," he said, adding that donations can be made directly to the pantry, which has its contact information listed through Hocking-Athens Perry Community Action. "It's getting rough. And I understand. Everybody's going through hard times and everybody's trying to hold on to what they've got - trying to make it last."
BOB GALL, PASTOR FOR THE Abundant Life Church on Hooper Road in Athens, grew up in the Athens area, but said he didn't truly understand the plight of local poor people throughout the county until he participated in a canned food drive as a student and got to see first-hand the situation those in poverty face.
And then about a year and a half ago, the Abundant Life Church decided to participate in the Angel Food Ministries program that is run out of Georgia and provides boxes of high-quality food items at over half off grocery store prices.
With no applications or pre-qualifiers to participate, the program is open to everyone and people can order their boxes in person or online. Gall said this allows Angel Food to help people who otherwise might not qualify for assistance.
The food is delivered once per month and is enough to feed a family of four for about a week or a senior citizen for up to a month, Gall said.
Some people are skeptical that the food is really about half-off the regular price, he said, but participants using a list and comparing prices at Kroger and other local stores have found that it's true.
"There are other folks out there - food pantries and some churches - that are fulfilling the niche of providing free food," he said. "What Angel Food does is provide good food for less money, which allows people to stretch their food dollars."
The number of people served per month varies, Gall said, ranging from 30 to 40 people ordering boxes down to 10. One of the barriers to participation is a lack of transportation for people to come pick up the box, he added.
Asked why it's important to him to provide this assistance, Gall cited Christian scripture, which states that giving food to those in need is in essence ministering to Jesus Christ himself.
"He said, 'When you did it to the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me,'" Gall quoted. "So for us that was a real call to arms that we need to do this."
Athens County has a wide variety of pantries and churches providing assistance in addition to Feed My Sheep and Abundant Life. The United Campus Ministry provides a weekly free supper on College Street, no questions asked.
The Nelsonville Community Center routinely provides free breakfast and lunch to children and adults. The First United Methodist Church in Athens provides free meals each week, as does the Athens Church of Christ. And the Friends & Neighbors Pantry in Lottridge was featured in Dateline NBC's "America Now" series about poverty in rural Appalachia. (Most of these opportunities are listed in each Thursday's "What's Happening" events calendar in The Athens NEWS.)
TO HELP COORDINATE PEOPLE in need and give them hope by connecting them with resources and opportunities in the community, Good Works, which also provides a weekly supper, created what is called its "Hope and Possibilities" program.
The program is designed primarily to help local congregations as they assist people who are seeking financial help.
"Because of the work that we do to love our neighbors, lots of people call us for help," Good Works director Keith Wasserman said last week. "We want to help in a way that brings the community together, not just functions as an agency. Hope and Possibilities is designed to provide a cooperative expression of love, primarily within the Christian community."
In 2008, Good Works had 252 calls and helped 103 people face-to-face between May and December, he said. In 2009, they had 375 calls and 137 face-to-face appointments. And this year so far, they've had 403 calls through September, and helped 143 people.
"The greatest need, in my view, was for someone to sit down face-to-face, to listen, to empathize and to help find resources in a way that gives people dignity and self-respect (and) that doesn't create more dependence," Wasserman said.
After the face-to-face meeting and potential participants completing the application process, Good Works' Chip Guyton helps direct them to appropriate resources throughout the county.
Wasserman said the work of Hope and Possibilities helps congregations save money by more efficiently coordinating resources, as well as helping churches to specifically help those who may be falling through the cracks when it comes to other forms of assistance. Good Works also provides a class for members of congregations to discuss issues involving coordination and helping those in need, he said.
"It's basically an effort to bring together Christians in the community that care about their neighbors and help them find the tools to work together as a community to help our neighbors," Wasserman said.
He said there's a tension between meeting people's needs and enabling them, as well as a tension between helping people and making them more dependent.
"The philosophy behind all of our projects has to do with empowering people to do as much for themselves as possible," he said. "We're trying to treat people as human beings with values and assets and abilities, rather than objectifying them."
Those looking for assistance or for more information on how to help can contact HAPCAP's Southeastern Ohio Regional Food Center at 1-800-385-6813, or visit on the web at http://www.hapcap.org/seorfc.htm.
This is the seventh article in a series focused on working people facing financial hardship in Athens County. This is the story of residents who have had to take on low-wage jobs to make ends meet, and the difficulties they face. This article focuses on the philanthropic work of churches and food banks to provide meals for those who do not have enough resources to make it through the month.
