Brett Johnson [00:00:01]:
We are Looking Forward Our Way. Hi, this is Brett. Now we've often stated that the pandemic may not have brought on an issue, but it certainly provided more in-depth focus on the needs of our community. And hunger was at the top of that list. Today, we're going to explore the incredible services and programs of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. Since 1980, this organization has supported millions of Ohioans in need of nourishing meals and supportive services. Our expert guest is Charity Eilerman, manager of Senior Hunger Programs at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. Charity, welcome to the show.
Charity Eilerman [00:00:33]:
Well, thanks for having me. Glad to
Carol Ventresca [00:00:35]:
be here. Charity, it is so nice to meet you. We've we've met in passing in previous lifetimes, but we also want to give out a huge shout out to your president CEO, Matt Habash, who is, celebrated forty years as directing what had been the Mid-Ohio Food Bank and now the Mid-Ohio Food Collective and just to congratulate him on all the wonderful work he's done. So, Matt, thanks for everything you have, accomplished in our community. Now before we get into the mission of the collective, which is to end hunger one nourishing meal at a time, co creating communities where everyone thrives, which I just love that mission. But this mission is enormous. It's grown by leaps and bounds over the years that Matt has been in charge. We're gonna dive into all of those services of the collective, but before we focus on the issue of senior housing, we wanna also hear more about you.
Carol Ventresca [00:01:39]:
Who where what's your background and how you became part of the collective team?
Charity Eilerman [00:01:44]:
Okay. Great. Well, thank you again for having me. Yeah. My background is very much in social services. I've been doing that for most of my career, and, Matt and I both got our start in settlement houses. So I know he began his journey, at St. Stephen's, and I began mine over at Godman Guild.
Charity Eilerman [00:02:05]:
So we have that sort of commonality there. But I've kind of always had this interest in working with seniors, but also have a passion about nutrition. My work with seniors, I I've done done a lot, quite a range of things. So I I taught some basic computer classes. I, worked coordinating volunteers for hospice and other senior serving programs. And then my most recent position before landing at Mid-Ohio Food Collective, I was doing some case management for older adults. So I was visiting my clients in their homes and helping them with a variety of tasks and and, you know, getting them to connected to community resources. So I learned a ton about the resources available here in Franklin County during that time.
Charity Eilerman [00:02:57]:
And then, you know, I was really drawn to Mid-Ohio Food Collective because of its very holistic approach to addressing hunger. You know, hunger doesn't happen in a bubble. There are so many things that impact, someone being food insecure. And I was also drawn to, their focus on fresh foods because I think that's so important and and people are really seeing the need for that, you know, depending on their various, you know, dietary restrictions and and things like that. So, you know, I loved that, you know, what had been known as Mid-Ohio Food Bank had sort of transformed, right about the time the pandemic was hitting. And they rebranded and, you know, it's no longer just Mid-Ohio Food Bank. It's also the farm and the pharmacy and the kitchen and and the Mid-Ohio markets. So that holistic approach really drew me into this current role.
Charity Eilerman [00:03:56]:
And And I've been able to continue working with a population that I'm very passionate about. You know, it's a little bit behind the scenes, but I'm but I'm able to really keep helping people meet their basic needs using what I consider my love language, which is feeding people.
Carol Ventresca [00:04:12]:
You know, you brought up a really good point too that I think, our current culture has lost track of what a settlement house is. Now I learned because my degrees are in sociology and goes back to the Hull House in Chicago. Jane Hull created the settlement houses at the time of the turn of the century into the nineteen hundreds to take care of immigrant, communities. Yeah. That that it's not whether they had housing and food. It's, you know, that that point in time, they didn't have services in the community that we have now and Central Ohio is blessed with everything that we have. The biggest problem is is making sure people know that the service is there. Which just as an aside, too, for our audience and, to let Charity know, too, that we always put together a list of resources.
Carol Ventresca [00:05:03]:
So all the stuff that we talk about in our podcast today or other things that you may know about or that I may know about, we'll put it together and we'll we'll, have that list of resources on our podcast, website page. So, so listeners, you know, the there's gonna be a lot that we're gonna go over today, and we'll make sure that you have you are able to to, find it easily.
Brett Johnson [00:05:26]:
Yeah. I'm gonna bet, this next set of stats, the listener's not gonna realize the the extent of your services. I mean, the agency reaches 20 of the ADO of Ohio's eighty eight counties. That's a half a million Ohioans. As far West as Marysville and London all the way to the Ohio River on the East and South to Chillicothe, Mid-Ohio Food Collective distributed over 84,000,000 pounds of food and groceries in 2,024 or approximately 194,000 meals per day. We talked about this before recording. Some numbers you just can't put your head around. You you almost have to literally see what is a 94,000 meals in one place look like.
Brett Johnson [00:06:09]:
But try to imagine that. A 94,000 trays of food. Let's put it that way. Or or lunch bags or whatever it might be.
Carol Ventresca [00:06:15]:
I was gonna say lots of different places, lots of different methods to get it there, lots of different end results of how the food is distributed and packed and and everything. So
Brett Johnson [00:06:26]:
Yeah. Can can you give us more details on the services provided?
Charity Eilerman [00:06:30]:
Yeah. And I think kind of reflecting back on when I first came to the Food Collective in 2022, I, you know, I had been working in in social services. So I've certainly knew of the food bank and and knew of pantries, but he didn't really ever think about what's the difference between a pantry and a food bank. So after being in this role, it was it was very quickly evident to me that, okay, the food bank itself, if you can imagine, is a big warehouse. Okay? So Mid-Ohio Food Collective has the food bank down in Grove City. Massive building, tons of food, and then you we're kind of the hub and then we disperse few food to over six thirty partner agencies throughout those 20 counties that we serve. So we've got, you know, big semi trucks going out every day to our partner agencies. And so, yeah, we have this extensive network of partner agencies that are overwhelmingly volunteer led, that are the direct connect of food to our neighbors in need.
Charity Eilerman [00:07:37]:
So we're kind of the hub. Folks don't come directly to us for food, but they go to our partner agencies to access, a variety of services. Whether that's, you know, pantries, produce markets, community meals, residential mobile markets. We have senior meal programs, backpack programs, and they're all working together at ending hunger in their communities. Not only are these programs providing groceries or a warm meal, but also vital information and resources that households need, as well as a welcoming environment. So we're all working together for the same same goal.
Brett Johnson [00:08:17]:
I can imagine the advances in the internet in just the last twenty years have made the job I don't want to call it easier, but maybe more efficient.
Carol Ventresca [00:08:28]:
Mhmm. Yeah.
Brett Johnson [00:08:29]:
The the the your agencies can talk to you more efficiently now.
Charity Eilerman [00:08:32]:
Yeah. Technology has changed the world, hasn't it?
Brett Johnson [00:08:35]:
Right. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [00:08:37]:
Well and and just keeping track because a lot of those programs are based on, federal guidelines and all of that information. So you you don't want to not serve an individual, but you need to have a whole lot of information. And there are programs out there that the collective can use to keep track of who's getting what, making sure they are getting all of the services they're eligible
Charity Eilerman [00:09:03]:
for.
Carol Ventresca [00:09:04]:
And especially, we're going to talk about our seniors. How many seniors don't realize they're eligible?
Charity Eilerman [00:09:08]:
Yes. So Yes. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [00:09:10]:
So as we said when we started the our conversation that Central Ohio has a lot of wonderful nonprofits. When I was directing a nonprofit, what I really enjoyed was working with the other agencies, realizing how much more we could get done when we work together as opposed to people think that we are in competition with each other because we're in competition for funding. But there's so much need out there. Everybody could be completely funded and and still folks would would need more. One of and and you just mentioned that you have six thirty different partner agencies you're working with. One of the things I noticed on your website is that you're not only just working with those for services, but that you provide services to your partner agency. Tell us a little bit about those collaborative efforts and what you're doing also to support those other agencies.
Charity Eilerman [00:10:09]:
Yeah. That's a great question. I I'm a big believer in collaboration. We get so much more accomplished when we're working together. So, you know, Mid-Ohio Food Collective has a deep connect with each of our partners, and we work to provide the appropriate training, capacity building, and guidance to support their tremendous efforts. And we value those partnerships greatly. Our role is to source and provide safe, healthy food to our network And their their role is really to bring it directly to the individuals and families, that are in need. So we depend on each other to carry out our respective roles.
Charity Eilerman [00:10:46]:
And we're so grateful for the strength and compassion of our partner network.
Brett Johnson [00:10:51]:
You
Charity Eilerman [00:10:51]:
know, so we we do offer different trainings, for our partners. Some of them are related, you know, more to the the compliance aspect of some of the government programs. Some of them are are more overarching in, you know, sometimes we're providing social works, the EUs. So there's a wide range of supports that we offer to our partners.
Carol Ventresca [00:11:13]:
I can remember looking through the list of training programs and it's even it's food safety. And and all when you're you think food safety in your own home, in your own refrigerator, now, make that times a hundred thousand people, hundred thousand meals, and there are a lot of issues. I can remember visiting, the food bank one time, and they were in the midst of upgrading refrigerated refrigeration services, refrigeration units.
Charity Eilerman [00:11:43]:
Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [00:11:43]:
Who would have thought? I mean, that is talk about changes and technology changes in food banks.
Brett Johnson [00:11:49]:
Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. The collective has greatly increased the types of programs it supports. We kind of alluded to that. I mean, the food bank system itself, we've heard about as well as the farms and the community gardens, but there's also, pharmacies. That's spelled with an f, pharmacies, the listener, because you're not weeding along with what we're weeding. Also kitchens and markets.
Brett Johnson [00:12:12]:
Can you talk you mentioned this earlier. I mean, how do these programs support food stability?
Charity Eilerman [00:12:17]:
Okay. Yeah. So our pharmacy program with an f, kind of a fun fun play on words there, works to connect fresh fruit, fresh food options to patients through health clinics who otherwise could not afford it. And this is done through a direct referral coming from the medical practitioner to the patient. And and in that, it guides them to where they can access weekly no cost produce to help them. And then we have our Mid-Ohio Kitchen, which is providing freshly prepared healthy meals to programs that normally could not afford the cost. So that could be a summer meal program, after school programs. Those are just some of the places where our kitchen is providing healthier options.
Charity Eilerman [00:13:03]:
And then we have our Mid-Ohio markets and those are large scale pantries. And those are operational at least a few times a week. And the idea is to provide a grocery shopping experience. At least half of the food there is fresh, and people can access the food regularly, weekly, with a variety of service hours offered. And, then we also provide wraparound services at each of those sites to provide resources and information as needed for customers.
Carol Ventresca [00:13:35]:
One of the changes has really been, as opposed to the early food banks basically packing a bag of groceries and everybody got the same thing, to now where an individual can go to a market that looks like a grocery store and they can choose what their family most likes to eat, but still have that opportunity to have the fresh food as well as as, shelf shelf food.
Brett Johnson [00:14:01]:
Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [00:14:03]:
There's another program, and I don't know whether this is part of that markets program or not, and and I think it still exists. It's the summer food voucher that that that individual and it's for older adults where they can get a voucher for fresh food from Farmer's Market.
Charity Eilerman [00:14:24]:
Yes. Yes. I'm familiar with that program. That's, something that The
Carol Ventresca [00:14:28]:
Department of Agriculture does it through the Department of Aging?
Charity Eilerman [00:14:32]:
Yes. I believe you're correct. And that's a program that is operated through Life Care Alliance. And so, I believe that that has shifted a little bit. It used to be, like you said, a prepacked box of produce directly from the farmers. And then during the pandemic or actually during before that, it was the voucher program. Then for the pandemic, they shifted it over to the boxes. And now, I think there might be a choice between the two.
Carol Ventresca [00:14:56]:
Okay. I used to do that in Delaware County. I would go and sign people up, at the farmers markets. And at one point in time, they had a hundred dollars of vouchers per person, which was a significant amount of of fresh produce they could get at a farmers market over the summer. Yes. And it included plants early in the summer. So if you wanted to grow your own tomatoes, you could get a tomato plant Nice. That you could take home and and do.
Carol Ventresca [00:15:24]:
So, you know, listeners, if if you've got an older adult, there are programs out there to not only help them with food stability, but to also make it a fun experience.
Charity Eilerman [00:15:33]:
Right. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely remember talking to many of my clients over the years doing case management who really missed that, you know, growing up on a farm kind of experience and that that gardening and getting their hands in the dirt. So yeah. I think you're right. That's a great way
Carol Ventresca [00:15:51]:
to address it. This is all leading up to a program that is a federally funded, locally directed program called SNAP, which people may remember as food stamps. And, I found it interesting that not only does the collective work with SNAP recipients, but you're they're also helping people get into the SNAP program to the tune of, like, 5,000 people a year. I I mean, that's a lot of paperwork to to be helping. How did that happen? And and tell us a little bit about what the collective is doing in that area.
Charity Eilerman [00:16:27]:
Yeah. So I I'm not sure how that exactly started. That was before my time at the collective. But I know that, you know, SNAP greatly impacts, individuals and families in providing additional food resources. You know, in a time where grocery prices are higher and wages aren't increasing at the same rate, you know, people are really struggling to afford higher rents, medical costs, grocery bills, and so SNAP can really provide that extra amount that can buffer, individuals and families from having to choose between paying for a prescription or eating that day. And so the the collective, now has a benefits and outreach team that is able, you know, they're they're out there helping our customers get connected to this resource. So
Carol Ventresca [00:17:13]:
That is wonderful. That that takes a lot of training to to work through those programs and to get people, not more than just filling out the paperwork, but to actually make sure it's gonna be a successful process. Yes.
Charity Eilerman [00:17:25]:
So Agree.
Brett Johnson [00:17:27]:
Yeah. The Collective announced the creation of a human services hub in the Eastland area. It's a 67,000 square foot building. It's gonna hold programs, your programs, but also other nonprofit services. It's a health center and, be supported by other programs such as public transportation. Can you give us an update on the hub?
Charity Eilerman [00:17:47]:
Yeah. The the hub that you're referring to is now being called the Eastland Prosperity Center, and it's under renovations as we speak.
Brett Johnson [00:17:56]:
What was it before?
Charity Eilerman [00:17:58]:
It was an old Kroger building.
Brett Johnson [00:18:00]:
Okay. Okay. So at least anybody that's in that area kind of knows, oh, that's what that was.
Charity Eilerman [00:18:04]:
Yes. Okay. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [00:18:05]:
It's near Refugee Road. Yes.
Charity Eilerman [00:18:07]:
That's correct. Mhmm. Yeah. And so Mid-Ohio Food Collective is leading the charge in this initiative. And it is, again, a collaboration, with service partners in the area who really understand the needs of that community. And, you know, there's been a lot of collaboration in this this development and design and we're very excited to begin the next phase. The concept's really to have a Mid-Ohio market model operational in the facility every weekday, and then the facility will also include a number of supportive services, such as medical screenings, SNAP enrollment, and case management. And it's essentially going to be a one stop service space for everyone who enters.
Brett Johnson [00:18:50]:
Nice. Yeah. I could see, well, multiple, needs for that, but it's also nice to see a building. I and I don't know the building intimately, but it's good to see buildings being reused Mhmm. For a purpose that's like it's it's right on a bus line, I'm sure, or near. And it's there. Just have to remodel it inside and take advantage rather than building it from the ground up. It's super cool.
Carol Ventresca [00:19:15]:
Are there specific communities that are going to be the focus of this hub or is it open to anybody?
Charity Eilerman [00:19:22]:
I believe it'll be open to anybody, but we we definitely recognized that that area of town was was underserved.
Carol Ventresca [00:19:30]:
Oh, right. So we're gonna shift this a little bit to, talking about older citizens and how we can meet their needs, keep them active, and ensure that they're not scammed, abused, and ignored. Needless to say, we I think we've hit all of those topics in different podcasts, you know, but senior hunger, that hit me. It that just like hit my heart when I heard that term. It is a critical topic. It was during the pandemic. I don't know that we focused on it as much. I think issues of children and young families had always been sort of the, headline in the newspaper.
Carol Ventresca [00:20:11]:
Mhmm. And suddenly during the pandemic, we realized that seniors couldn't pay not only couldn't pay for food, but they couldn't even get the food to their house then with the pandemic on top of it. The collective provides for a program called the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, CSFP. And it provides a box of shelf stable goods once per month. Give us a little details and what exactly do you mean by shelf stable? Yeah.
Charity Eilerman [00:20:42]:
I'm assuming peanut butter. It almost always has peanut butter. So I was like, that was a great guess, Carol. Yes.
Carol Ventresca [00:20:49]:
Because we all have that.
Charity Eilerman [00:20:51]:
Yes. Yes. So commodity supplemental food program or CSFP can be a bit of a mouth full at times, and so a lot of people know this as the senior commodity box. So some of you may have heard of it referred to as that. And great question. What what is this shelf stable box of food? It is generally going to be canned there's going to be some canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables. There's usually a jug of juice, a couple of boxes of cereal, and some shelf stable milk. There's gonna be usually pasta or rice, and then the peanut butter, and usually raisins come in it.
Charity Eilerman [00:21:36]:
And then, there's also a block of cheese. So I kinda like to think of this as a monthly subscription, because it it's it's a monthly program. And once somebody is signs up and is approved for the program, it's yeah. They're they're enrolled for a year, and then they have to renew. It's for seniors who are 60 and older. And, I think it's important to note that the income guidelines for this program just recently increased significantly. You You know, from one year to the next, we'd see the income guidelines go up, you know, $20 a year for a single senior. But this year, it went up almost $300 per month.
Charity Eilerman [00:22:19]:
So while historically, it's been, 130 of the poverty level to qualify, it's now up to a 50%. So that's that's gonna really open up, this program to a lot of seniors who maybe didn't qualify before, but but can access the program now. Now in terms of what we saw during the pandemic, I think we certainly saw the isolation of seniors being highlighted at that time, definitely. And as well as their willingness to leave home for many things, including, you know, picking up groceries. And so, during the pandemic, it was hard for a lot of our senior customers to access this program because, what we were doing in most cases was sending out these boxes to community partners. So a senior might have to go out to the community center or senior center to pick that box up every month. And so even without the pandemic, we, you know, certainly see seniors with mobility challenges. You know, I think that's, one of the biggest barriers for the pop this population.
Charity Eilerman [00:23:31]:
It could be their own physical mobility, but it could also be transportation. And so, in an effort to serve more homebound seniors in 2021, we started a home delivery program for for CSFP, using Amazon Flex to get more of these commodity boxes distributed. And, then last fall, we were able to expand that program in Franklin County, where we had originally been sending out about 400 to four fifty boxes each month. We are now, sending over 1,200 boxes a month to to seniors directly to their homes. So they don't we're we're kind of taking that middleman out out of the scenario there and it comes right to their door.
Carol Ventresca [00:24:14]:
It's perfect. It's shelf stable goods. Being on a truck to be delivered is no different than sitting on a shelf at a grocery store. Right. So they can get that this box on top of the opportunity to get fresh fruits and vegetables.
Charity Eilerman [00:24:30]:
In a pantry?
Carol Ventresca [00:24:31]:
In the pantry. Yes. Okay.
Charity Eilerman [00:24:32]:
Yes.
Carol Ventresca [00:24:32]:
Okay.
Charity Eilerman [00:24:33]:
And then in addition to CSFP, another really impactful way that we're reaching seniors, is by identifying large concentrations of need and bringing services to them. We do these, senior mobile markets that serve low income senior housing communities. So you can kind of imagine it as a pop up farmers market, in a community room of a low income senior housing building. And it's a really convenient way for seniors to access food without the need for transportation. And then it's, you know, we're bringing fresh produce to these communities. And then when we do have, you know, sometimes we have eggs and dairy products available, and we will bring those, you know, when we have those as well.
Carol Ventresca [00:25:22]:
And that's called?
Charity Eilerman [00:25:23]:
Senior Mobile Market.
Carol Ventresca [00:25:25]:
That's wonderful. Mhmm.
Charity Eilerman [00:25:26]:
Yeah. It's really well received by the customers. They love it.
Brett Johnson [00:25:30]:
Nice.
Carol Ventresca [00:25:30]:
How many how many folks do you think are being served in that?
Charity Eilerman [00:25:34]:
That's a good question. Off the top of my head oh, gosh. Just within Franklin County, I would say we probably have 10 to 15 different communities that we we serve with that. And they they all range you know, they might have 25 customers up to, you know, 80. You know, that And
Carol Ventresca [00:25:57]:
how often is that?
Charity Eilerman [00:25:58]:
Monthly. Monthly.
Carol Ventresca [00:26:00]:
Yep. Nice.
Charity Eilerman [00:26:01]:
And they all know, you know, once a month, our our community room is transformed and we can shop. So Nice. Yeah.
Brett Johnson [00:26:09]:
Well, seniors can be eligible for various programs. As you mentioned, SNAP and then the, the senior commodity box CSFP. But there are some, I'm sure, complex limitations, parameters, and rules that gotta be followed. Follow the money and the money follows that, that sort of thing. Can you discuss how the various programs can actually work against each other, such as when incomes fluctuate? I mean, I'm sure that's how you you guys have a handle on it, but I'm sure it's gotta be complex. So yeah.
Charity Eilerman [00:26:39]:
Well, I'm glad you asked this question because I think this is a it it can be complicated, I think, in the various, you know, eligibility requirements for all the different programs. But I think it's a common misconception that a senior can't access all of those.
Brett Johnson [00:26:55]:
I mean, you just brought up that the yeah. That example great example. You can do this, but you can also do this and this.
Carol Ventresca [00:27:02]:
Right. Well, so many times people lose one, program because they get another program.
Charity Eilerman [00:27:08]:
You know,
Carol Ventresca [00:27:08]:
there's a bump up here and then it affects something else. And that, I think, folks will assume the worst. Right. As opposed to asking the question, can I? Yes. And and people need to keep asking those questions.
Charity Eilerman [00:27:22]:
Yes. Yeah. We get that question a lot with CSFP. A lot of folks just assume that since they receive Meals on Wheels, that they can't get CSFP or vice versa. And we're quick to tell them, no, you can access both of those. And you can also access SNAP. You can also access the Senior Farmers Market nutrition program that you referred to earlier, Carol. You know, those those can all be tapped into.
Charity Eilerman [00:27:46]:
And, you know, certainly they all have different income guidelines and different requirements. So it's just you have to be mindful of those. But some people might qualify for every single one of those programs. And while they might not be able to use all of them, you know, they can kind of piecemeal together a plan that works for them. So, you know, it's a great way to extend that grocery budget in a time when we're seeing that continued increase in food costs. And then, you know, certainly there's all of those programs, but they can also shop at pantries. And, you know, we know that many seniors have limited incomes that can easily be eaten up by rent, utilities, medical bills, and it just doesn't leave a lot, you know, to put food on the table at the end of the day. So I also see the benefit, you know, having this wide variety of programs can really help seniors find resources that match their dietary needs as well.
Charity Eilerman [00:28:39]:
Right. Well, and
Carol Ventresca [00:28:40]:
I think one of the things that we've talked about in many of our podcasts with senior needs is that seniors are often taking care of other family members. They themselves may be 60 or 65, but they could be taking care of a parent in their eighties and nineties or grandchildren. And that there's just a lot of people around the table Yes. That need to be fed.
Brett Johnson [00:29:03]:
Mhmm. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [00:29:05]:
When an individual is in need of food, what are the first steps that you suggest they should take to get on that positive path to food stability?
Charity Eilerman [00:29:15]:
Yeah. Good question. So if if a senior over the age of 60 is specifically interested in the commodity box, Mid-Ohio Food Collective now has a CSFP customer service line. So if they're specifically interested in that program, I would recommend that they give us a call if they're living in our service area. And that that phone number is (614) 317-9443. And then for, really, individuals of all ages, freshtrack.com is a great place to find resources with, you can do a quick search with a ZIP code. And FreshTrak is is spelled fresh, f r e s h. And then track is we like to misspell track, t r a k Com.
Charity Eilerman [00:30:04]:
But you can put a a zip code in there and it'll pull up resources that are happening today. And if you scroll down, it'll show what's happening tomorrow.
Carol Ventresca [00:30:13]:
Is that available for across the country?
Charity Eilerman [00:30:15]:
So that is, it is a Feeding America program. Not all food banks use it, but we do at Mid-Ohio. So any, you know, anybody living in our 20 county service area, could use that. And then if somebody's living out of Mid-Ohio Food Collective service area, I just encourage them to reach out to their local food bank or pantry to see what what resources are available.
Carol Ventresca [00:30:43]:
Usually, a food usually, nonprofit organizations, the information on them is available through something like the United Way, or the, two one one program.
Charity Eilerman [00:30:57]:
Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [00:30:58]:
Food pantries would be considered under that too, I would assume.
Charity Eilerman [00:31:01]:
Yeah. You can find some some information, I think, through 211. We actually, some of the pantries do require a reservation, and those usually go through two one one. And all of that information can be found on, you know, freshtrack.com.
Carol Ventresca [00:31:15]:
Okay. And and again, listeners, we're gonna have all of this on our resources sheet. So we would love to have you come back and listen to the whole podcast again, but you don't necessarily have to.
Brett Johnson [00:31:24]:
Right. Exactly. Yeah. You know, one topic we haven't covered is the incredible team of volunteers that support the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. It's a group of 17,000 dedicated individuals provide, they had they provided over a 4,700 of service. That translates into $3,200,000 of savings. What are you looking for in a volunteer? And if a listener is interested, how do they sign up?
Charity Eilerman [00:31:53]:
Yeah. Mid-Ohio Food Collective is always in need of volunteers, as well as donors who are dedicated to our mission to end hunger one nourishing meal at a time, while co creating communities where everyone thrives. So if you're dedicated to that mission, we're always looking for volunteers and donors. Volunteers with a varying skill set, you know, are welcome, you know, to to join us. In our programming for seniors, we recently added some volunteer positions to assist with data entry or even with the logistics of our CSFP delivery program. So we have some volunteers who are regularly coming in, and helping us, you know, get back get kind of direct the the Amazon Flex drivers to picking up those boxes boxes. You know, at the collective, we certainly have volunteers who are coming into the food pantry to volunteer, who may organize food drives, you know, at work or church. We have some volunteers coming into our Mid-Ohio markets or even the kitchens or farms.
Charity Eilerman [00:33:03]:
And then, you know, certainly have donors that make a financial contribution to support our mission as well. So, you know, if you're interested in doing any of those things, please visit MOFC, which just stands for Mid-Ohio Food Collective. So that's m0fc.org. And if you click on get involved, that's your best way to find out more about each of those opportunities.
Carol Ventresca [00:33:27]:
I'm glad you talked about donors too. I've been a longtime supporter of of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. And for many folks, you may not be able to get out and volunteer for whatever the reason. Other commitments, mobility issues yourself, if you're looking at supporting an organization in our community, this would every penny counts. And one of the things that you gave me some updated information about, about money and about information about the collective, for every dollar that's donated, it equals two and a half meals of food distributed to their customers. And every dollar donated is equivalent to $4.56 in groceries. Your dollars count and they can be stretched to the absolute limit. Matt has that down pat.
Carol Ventresca [00:34:26]:
So, so yeah, listeners, it's this is a great organization and I'm so glad that, that you came to join us today, Charity. It's been wonderful to meet you and to hear more about the programs and, we're gonna we always give our guest experts an opportunity to provide us with some last words of wisdom.
Charity Eilerman [00:34:46]:
Oh, well, Carol, how much time do we have? As much as you need. No, I think that just we just have so many opportunities for creative solutions to addressing, not only senior hunger, but also social isolation, which is, you know, plaguing our seniors, I think, now. And, you know, that can be addressed in so many different ways. You know, thinking about food specifically. It can be, you know, through sharing a meal, you know, with a neighbor. It could be, getting involved in a community gardening. Like you said, just, you know, growing some of your own food. And I think, you know, gardening is very much a lost art at this point.
Charity Eilerman [00:35:29]:
And I think I mentioned earlier, I had, clients that absolutely loved reflecting and reminiscing about their time growing up on the farm and and all of the different knowledge they had about that. So I think even if a senior isn't able to physically contribute and, you know, get down and and get their hands in the dirt, they definitely have experience and wisdom that needs to be shared with younger generations. You know, we're losing some of these these skills and some of this knowledge that used to just be part of daily life.
Carol Ventresca [00:36:03]:
Right.
Charity Eilerman [00:36:04]:
So I think gardening is a great way. I could really see some cooking groups forming at some senior communities. You know, these same community rooms that, you know, turn into a farmer's market once a month could really also be a hub for community meals and and cooking together and, you know, getting to know your neighbors better, and then also sharing a meal. In the work I do, I I really see a lot of discussions about reshaping what healthy aging looks like. And I encourage anyone who's interested in making a difference to engage in any of these activities. You know, so, you know, contact your local senior center. Find out if there's a village in your area. This is a growing movement in, the Columbus area.
Charity Eilerman [00:36:52]:
And villages are designed to help seniors age in place by taking a neighbors helping neighbors approach. And, you know, that's it's not a new concept. You know, decades ago, everybody knew their neighbors. That now we don't. And so it's I think it's a a way to sort of, get back to basics when it comes to socializing and knowing who your neighbors are. I see house sharing. That's another option that is becoming a little more looked at. And that addresses multiple problems.
Charity Eilerman [00:37:26]:
I mean, we have so many seniors who, you know, have been in their homes for decades. And, you know, while they maybe had a full house at one time, they might be the only person living there now, and and they have all this space that they don't really need. But they could use the help around the house. They could, you know, benefit from sharing a meal with a roommate. So, you know, I think I think the Golden Girls were really on to something.
Carol Ventresca [00:37:53]:
And so That's my ideal.
Charity Eilerman [00:37:55]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I I just you know, I'm really excited to see what aging in place looks like over the next twenty to thirty years.
Carol Ventresca [00:38:02]:
Wonderful. Thank you so much.
Brett Johnson [00:38:04]:
Yes. Many thanks to our expert guest, Charity Eilerman, manager of Senior Hunger Programs at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective for joining us. Listeners, thank you for joining us as well. You're gonna find contact information and the resources we discussed in this episode in our show notes and on our website at lookingforwardourway.com, and we are looking forward to hearing your feedback on this or any of our other podcast episodes.