THE WORK OF THE MOUNTAINEER FOOD BANK IS EVER MORE IMPORTANT DURING TIMES OF CRISIS

If you are interested in volunteering during the COVID-19 crisis or are in need of help, visit these resources:

Rapid Response WV - https://rapidresponsewv.org/
Volunteer WV - https://volunteer.wv.gov/Volunteer/Pages/Covid-19.aspx

Preserve WV AmeriCorps member Ksenia Bradner packs an Emergency Food Box on the assembly line.

​The COVID-19 virus has dominated 2020, sweeping the globe with devastation, and shuttering schools and businesses large and small.  This has left many families with less money to put food on the table.  Here to serve, I volunteered to serve the Mountaineer Food Bank in Gassaway, WV in Braxton County when they sent out an urgent plea for volunteers. The Mountaineer Food Bank provides food and other household items to over 450 feeding programs in 48 counties in West Virginia. These programs include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior programs, Veterans Table programs, mobile pantry programs, school food pantry and backpack programs. Over the years, the Mountaineer Food Bank has become the largest emergency food provider in West Virginia -- distributing over 16.7 million pounds annually.

​On Friday March 20th, we had a small group of volunteers which included middle and high school students.  We set up an assembly line and implemented social distancing by keeping ourselves apart, washing our hands, and being careful about not touching any switches and door handles.  We made 322 emergency food boxes.  On Saturday March 21st, we only had four people, including fellow AmeriCorps member Morgan Agee who normally serves at Trout Unlimited under the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area.  Despite the small number, by the end of the day we were still able to prepare 82 emergency food boxes for the needy.  It was hard work but we felt a real sense of accomplishment looking at the finished boxes ready to be loaded onto trucks!   
 
I learned what a complicated logistical operation a food bank is! Imagine when you get a call and are offered two truckloads of Fruit Loops; you don't want to say no, but you have to figure out where to store them and how to work them into your food rotation. The director Kathryn Porter is extremely well organized and deals with this type of issue every day.  She is a practical problem solver of the first degree – think of a cross between a drill sergeant and an elementary school teacher and throw in some humor as well because you must have some fun too!   

Emergency food boxes ready for distribution.

My early years were spent in a Russian orphanage with poor nutrition and my growth and development suffered.  Once I came to America and was given healthy, nutritious food, my body immediately responded in a dramatic way – I actually grew nearly two inches in one month and my pediatrician couldn’t believe her eyes.  Before I volunteered at Mountaineer Food Bank, I had some appreciation for food banks and their importance to our community.  However, packaging a food box by myself, item by item made me truly connect the dots between poverty and nutrition.  Each food box covers nutritional ground for a single week. If the contents of the box are to be shared by more than one person, the nutrition is further reduced per person.  We won’t solve hunger by a single food box but it’s a start.  The late Mother Teresa said, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”

If you are interested in volunteering during the COVID-19 crisis or are in need of help, visit these resources:

Rapid Response WV - https://rapidresponsewv.org/
Volunteer WV - https://volunteer.wv.gov/Volunteer/Pages/Covid-19.aspx

Ksenia Bradner

Preserve WV AmeriCorps member serving with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia.