Nelson, Garrettsville and Freedom may not have large populations but there has never been a shortage of community support. The communities have demonstrated that with the growing outreach of the Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard, a community non-profit food pantry that is in its 10th year.
“It has been critical,” James A. Garfield Superintendent and NGCC Board President Ted Lysiak told The Weekly Villager on July 9. “It has grown so much that we do deliveries every week now and we are delivering food to families each week.”
Founded in 2014, the NGCC originally provided groceries twice a month to families in need. Its recently launched delivery program rapidly grew to the point where they are delivering groceries each week to households that have opted into the program.
The NGCC receives most of its food via donations from area residents and businesses, and purchases additional food through the Akron-Canton Food Bank. It helps families who reside in the James A. Garfield School District and families who are open-enrolled in the district.
In addition to the donations, the NGCC has also received assistance from local farmers such as Bonner Farms, and Rennecker Farm, which has, twice a year raised a pig through the local 4H program to be butchered to supply pork products for the NGCC.
“Both farms give us a very good price on meat and help us out,” Lysiak said. “They give a donation, and that meat will go to the families that we serve.”
According to Lysiak, higher food prices caused by inflation have significantly increased the need for the NGCC’s services in the last decade. Just this last year alone, the number of families requesting assistance has grown more than 10%.
“This is an unfortunate repercussion of that,” he added. “A consequence of that is that people are trying to make ends meet and it is becoming more difficult. Groceries and everything else are getting very expensive.”
Families that want to apply for assistance from the NGCC can do so by calling the organization directly or visiting the website ngccportage.org. Lysiak said that sometimes it is not the families that directly apply but friends of families who do so on their behalf.
In addition to seeing the number of families in need increase, the NGCC’s volunteer base has also grown. Lysiak said that families who once benefited from the NGCC’s help have paid it back by becoming volunteers.
“I think it speaks to the nature of our community and what makes Garrettsville, Freedom and Nelson special places,” Lysiak said. “Everyone is willing to pitch in and do what it takes to support each other.”
Lysiak added the NGCC has approximately 40 volunteers assisting in the weekly deliveries and in-person distributions.
“It could not be done without an army of volunteers and we just have a great group of volunteers that help us get to where we are at,” he added.
The NGCC is overseen by a 13-member board and is located at the Garrettsville Family YMCA. Lysiak said the organization was founded to help families in need and has continued its growing support. The NGCC tries to make sure that each grocery delivery includes protein, vegetables, dairy and at least one fresh type of produce.
“The Board that helps to oversee and run the cupboard is a very proud group of individuals,” Lysiak added. “If you ever speak to them in public, they are always talking about the great things we are doing. Those folks are tied to other organizations that always help us out. It just a really rewarding organization to be a part of.”
The organization started trending upward three years ago when it changed its delivery system, using a 0-100 fundraising campaign to attract 100 donors at $5 a month to purchase a van along with monetary donations from the residents. The NGCC uses the van to travel to the Akron-Canton Food Bank and receive groceries, which are in turn delivered to families.
In Lysiak’s eyes, the NGCC has been a perfect representation of what it truly means to be a part of a small community such as Garrettsville, Nelson and Freedom.
“It is just the type of community that we live in here,” he said. “A small-town community where you look out for your neighbor, and it is just one example of a lot of organizations in our community that do the exact same thing.”
