CLEVELAND — Cristen Cane said volunteering means so much.
“It is such a joy,” she said. “I see so many of my senior volunteers here. You get to connect with seniors who really are isolated and they just love to chit chat and they’re so thankful.”
She said this is why she and other volunteers, Laketran employees and more distribute food boxes weekly from the Lake County Mobile Food Pantry.
“It all started during the pandemic when we all know seniors were very scared to go into grocery,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that they had access to fresh produce and still be able to live a healthy life and have healthy options for food.”
The weekly distributions are made possible through the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Laketran, the Lake County Commissioners Senior Services and the Council of Aging and Lifeline.
Laketran C.E.O. Ben Capelle said while the pandemic has evolved, food insecurity still remains a big issue.
Feeding America reports in 2020, the State of Senior Hunger found that 5.2 million seniors were food insecure in that year. That’s one out of every 15.
“It might mean you can’t afford the food or in COVID’s case, it might mean that you might not be able to access the food,” he said. “So it’s not just about money. In some cases, it’s about how do I actually get the food?”
Cane said the higher cost of food and fuel have driven an increase in demand for the weekly distributions.
“Knowing that, there’s quite a distance between Madison and Wickliffe and maybe we’re missing those seniors who could really use the service,” she said. “Now, we’re at all these areas of the county.”
Cane said Lake County residents ages 60 and older may register for one pickup per month. This can be done by calling Lifeline at 2-1-1 or the Lake County Council of Aging at 440-205-8111.
Seniors who would like to arrange a ride to pick up produce can call Laketran at 440-354-6100.
