The Greater Dover – New Philadelphia Food Pantry is making thanksgiving feasts possible for many families who could use the assistance.
Chief Operating Officer Jim Rice says the pantry moved up its distribution hours this week from 5 to 8 pm Tuesday and 9 am to noon Wednesday, offering basics like canned goods and fresh produce.
But Rice says he believes the pantry saw its thanksgiving rush at its last distribution, with over 900 families coming through last week compared to about 750-800 families expected for this week.
He says the number of families the pantry serves has been slowly creeping up, now at about 850 a week. The pantry on average is getting about eight semi-truckloads of food a month from the Akron-Canton foodbank.
Rice says the Dover – New Philadelphia pantry is on track to give away two and half million pounds of food in 2024.
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