July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Planning grant sought for food pantry (01/21/08)
Jay County Commissioners
By By JACK RONALD-
A $50,000 planning grant will be sought to design new facilities for the Helping Hand Food Bank and Thrift Shop.
Jay County Commissioners this morning agreed to fund a $2,500 income survey and half of a required $5,500 in local match for the Community Focus Fund grant.
"I don't see any reason why we can't help you," said commissioner Gary Theurer, noting that the food bank helps people in need from all over the county.
Run by Community and Family Services with a staff of volunteers, the food bank is located in rented space on South Wayne Street in Portland, directly across the street from the CFS offices.
One possibility would be to replace the current 3,000-square-foot space with a 3,600-square-foot addition to the CFS office building.
Advisory council president Jim Bruner told the commissioners that in 2007 the food bank distributed a total of 99,325 items to local families. That's in addition to the Second Harvest food distributions held at the Jay County Fairgrounds on an intermittent basis.
The food bank serves between 200 to 270 families in a typical month.
Community developer Ami Huffman, who brought the grant application proposal to the commissioners, said the income survey is needed because the last one done for the entire county was completed in 2004. "It's outdated," she said.
Don Cole of CFF noted that federal commodity distributions have decreased in recent years, though the number of families needing help from the food bank has grown.
"If it wasn't for the community, that food bank wouldn't survive," said Cole.
Huffman explained that a planning grant is the first step toward solving space problems at the facility. "From there we can decide what the next best step is," she said.
The county is allocated two "slots" for CFF projects. One of those is now being used by the Dunkirk fire station and EMS base project. If approved, the food bank would be the second.
In other business, the commissioners:
•Authorized John Gause of Apex Benefits Group, Indianapolis, to meet with county employees on optional individual insurance programs available through Trustmark, which would be an alternative to the current AFLAC insurance offerings. Those voluntary programs are paid for by county employees via a pre-tax payroll deduction.
•Noted that Road School at Purdue University is set for March 25 to 27.
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Jay County Commissioners this morning agreed to fund a $2,500 income survey and half of a required $5,500 in local match for the Community Focus Fund grant.
"I don't see any reason why we can't help you," said commissioner Gary Theurer, noting that the food bank helps people in need from all over the county.
Run by Community and Family Services with a staff of volunteers, the food bank is located in rented space on South Wayne Street in Portland, directly across the street from the CFS offices.
One possibility would be to replace the current 3,000-square-foot space with a 3,600-square-foot addition to the CFS office building.
Advisory council president Jim Bruner told the commissioners that in 2007 the food bank distributed a total of 99,325 items to local families. That's in addition to the Second Harvest food distributions held at the Jay County Fairgrounds on an intermittent basis.
The food bank serves between 200 to 270 families in a typical month.
Community developer Ami Huffman, who brought the grant application proposal to the commissioners, said the income survey is needed because the last one done for the entire county was completed in 2004. "It's outdated," she said.
Don Cole of CFF noted that federal commodity distributions have decreased in recent years, though the number of families needing help from the food bank has grown.
"If it wasn't for the community, that food bank wouldn't survive," said Cole.
Huffman explained that a planning grant is the first step toward solving space problems at the facility. "From there we can decide what the next best step is," she said.
The county is allocated two "slots" for CFF projects. One of those is now being used by the Dunkirk fire station and EMS base project. If approved, the food bank would be the second.
In other business, the commissioners:
•Authorized John Gause of Apex Benefits Group, Indianapolis, to meet with county employees on optional individual insurance programs available through Trustmark, which would be an alternative to the current AFLAC insurance offerings. Those voluntary programs are paid for by county employees via a pre-tax payroll deduction.
•Noted that Road School at Purdue University is set for March 25 to 27.
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