March 25, 2023

A mobile food drive took place Friday at the future site of OVP Health Community Health Partnership, formerly known as Colonial Lanes, in Huntington.

Samantha Edwards, chief development officer for Facing Hunger Foodbank, said Friday’s event was part of an ongoing partnership between the food bank and OVP Health.

“OVP has generously provided financial support to help us further our mission of serving those who live with food insecurity every day,” she said. “Today in particular, we served our neighbors in need in Cabell County … 200 households in fact. We know that almost 14,000 Cabell County residents are food insecure, including nearly 20% of the county’s children.”

Velma Workman, operations manager at OVP Health, said one of the core values of OVP Health is community.

“We served more than 200 families in our community,” she said. “Our employees volunteer monthly to help in the communities in which they work. Today, we had several employees from OVP Health, as well as volunteers from the community.”

OVP Health hosts or sponsors food distributions alongside Facing Hunger at its outpatient sites at least three times per month at varying locations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio, according to Charles Shumaker, OVP’s director of marketing and community outreach.

“We’ll host another one at today’s site on May 1,” Shumaker said. “We host several per month in communities including Proctorville, Huntington, Louisa, Ashland, Inez and Logan with additional locations under consideration to distribute food to families in need.”

Edwards added that Facing Hunger and OVP both serve residents in some of the most remote areas in the region.

“This partnership allows us to reach those who need us, at a time when the price of food, and the cutback of SNAP benefits makes it even more challenging for them to access food,” she said.

Friday’s food distribution for each family included 2 pounds of ground turkey and fresh produce, including three green peppers, a bag of baby carrots and a 5-pound bag of apples. Also given were family food boxes that included shelf-stable items such as peanut butter, canned meats, pasta and pasta sauce, canned vegetables and fruits, grains, beans, shelf stable milk, bread and bakery items, Edwards said.

More information about the dates and times of future mobile food distributions is on the Facing Hunger Foodbank’s Facebook page.

*Story by Fred Pace, Business reporter for The Herald-Dispatch

*Photo by Sholten Singer, HD Media