Area OSU Extension offices, other volunteers team up for food kindness event
During Hunger Action Month, Adams, Brown and Highland County community organizations connected with The Ohio State University and the local OSU Extension teams for food kindness. (Photos courtesy of Leeanna McKamey)
During Hunger Action Month, Adams, Brown and Highland County community organizations connected with The Ohio State University (OSU) and the local OSU Extension teams for food kindness. These counties have a combined food insecurity rate of 52.8 percent (Feeding America, 2022).
Nearly 1,000 people, including students, staff, alumni and community members, recently packed 350,000 meals at The Ohio State University Columbus campus. More than 233,000 of those meals were delivered in Southwest Ohio on Sept. 13.
The food was delivered in southwest Ohio via the official Ohio State Football equipment truck owned by Ken Blair. OSU Extension organized the delivery of the assembled meals to local nonprofit organizations to be distributed in Adams, Brown, Franklin, Hamilton, Highland and Montgomery counties.
Representatives of OSU Extension and the Office of Student Life, as well as the nonprofits involved, were onsite as the truck unloaded at each location. Adams, Brown and Highland counties distributed 55,896 meals, which were picked up by local partner agencies and food banks. These local organizations were recognized as champions of food kindness and will provide the food to their community residents.
The program is a collaboration among Ohio State Student Life, Athletics, OSU Extension/College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences, Ohio Union Activities board, OSU Alumni Association, Coca-Cola and 911day.org.
Ohio Food Insecurity Numbers (data from Feeding America, 2022):
Montgomery, 14.6 percent
Hamilton, 13.3 percent
Highland, 16.5 percent
Adams, 19.7 percent
Brown, 16.6 percent.
Distribution at each site:
Highland, Adams, Brown Counties – 274 boxes; 9,316 packages; 55,896 meals.
Hamilton County – 434 boxes; 14,756 packages; 88,536 meals.
Montgomery County – 436 boxes; 14,824 packages; 88,944 meals.
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