The rising gas and grocery prices haven’t been driving more people to the Greater Dover New Philadelphia Food Pantry so far.
Volunteer Chief Operations Officer Jim Rice says the pantry is serving about 700 families a week—down from more than 800 at this time last year. He says the drop is largely due to fewer clients from Stark County, where new food pantries have opened.
He says the pantry is still distributing 45,000 to 50,000 pounds of food weekly from the Akron-Canton Food Bank, despite a cut in federal and state programs to help food banks purchase food, but the supply remains strong – thanks to other grants and donations.
Rice says his pantry pays those fees, which have remained steady, to the Akron-Canton Food Bank to help cover transportation and service costs, but it doesn’t pay for the food itself.
The all-volunteer operation at the Dover New Philadelphia Food Pantry relies on about 50 volunteers each week to serve the community.
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