Food pantry is a source of pride

To the editor:

Growing up in this community, I have always had a soft spot in my heart when it comes to the people of Portland, Indiana.

Oftentimes you will find me visiting family and going to local auctions on Saturdays. I moved away in 2010, and to be honest, my heart never left Portland.

I have recently had the privilege of volunteering with the Trinity United Methodist Food Pantry. In 2010, when I moved away, my mother, Kay Rohrer, took over running the food pantry. It went from serving 40 to 50 families every two weeks to serving over 150 families every two weeks. Actually, 168 families to be exact. I’m not sure anyone is aware, but the majority of these families live below the national poverty level. When I am talking about the majority, I mean close to 90%.

I have heard a thousand times, “Those people just don’t want to work.” “They just need to get a job.”

Well folks, I am here to tell you that it is just not that simple. Those people are just like you and I. These are some tough times and jobs are not that easy to come by that would support a family. Many are retired and on a fixed income. The list of examples goes on and on.

As I go car-to-car gathering information, I can’t help but be proud of the Portland community for all it has done to help these families. Volunteers are not only taking time to talk to those in every single car that is waiting in line like they are family, they are helping these families take a step closer to food security. (And this is huge when it comes to children.)

I am so proud of The Portland Foundation for giving money during this huge crisis the community is facing. I am so proud of every volunteer who comes week after week, month after month. This is not just one person putting this on, it is a huge group of people that work together for the greater good of the community. I am so proud.

This is where the community comes into play. The amount of food needed to help support these families has increased tremendously. Yes, you can donate nonperishable food. However, a monetary gift, no matter how great or small, would go farther if it was donated through the food pantry.

How is that? The food pantry is able to order nonperishable food from Second Harvest Food Bank for so many cents per pound. This is considerably cheaper than if you were to go to the store and buy food to donate, making your money go farther in the community. One hundred percent of the money given is strictly used on food. All of the volunteers are doing this week after week because they love and support the community.

This letter to the editor is not to receive donations. However, donations would be great. (Mail checks to Trinity United Methodist Food Panty, 323 S. Meridian St., Portland, IN 47371.)

This is to tell the people of Jay County, more specifically Portland, how proud I am — proud of how far you have come from 2010 with supporting the community and extremely proud the stigma around the words “food panty” has gone away.

We all go through tough times, and if you use this food pantry please know that you will meet some of the most supportive people I’ve ever known.

Incredibly proud,

Missy (Rohrer) Getts

Garrett