By Aaron Dorman
MERRILLVILLE — Food bank volunteer Karen Ruse spends her Saturday mornings loading cars with food delivery boxes outside the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana off Broadway.
In order to serve the hundreds of people who come in their cars each Saturday, the interactions are often quick. Volunteers don’t necessarily get to know names or their stories, but they do know faces, and they get hugs.
“One lady will get out of her car to get hugs,” Ruse said. “She picks up food for two other families. She wants hugs from me specifically. I love it, I’ll hug anybody.”
At a recent fundraising event, the Food Bank’s annual Soiree, local volunteers described moving, meaningful experiences helping those in need.
Amid busy packaging and loading of food delivery boxes, either at their mobile market or out in the community, volunteers also detect a sense of urgency and imminent crisis as federal funding cuts threaten the ability of the food bank to serve roughly 60,000 hungry families across Lake and Porter Counties.
“It’s making us nervous,” said volunteer Hope Hanford. “We’re worried we can’t serve people who really need it: veterans, seniors, injured people, people who are food insecure, worried about their kids. We’re hoping local individuals can dig around their pockets and find donations. We haven’t seen any changes yet but we’re afraid.”
NWI Food Bank President and CEO Vic Garcia affirmed that the rug had been pulled out from under them via the USDA, in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars previously allocated to the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
The Food Bank was hoping to raise at least $100,000 at their annual soiree, Garcia said, as the organization looks to private and individual donations to fill in the gap left by the federal government spending freeze.
“This event is more important than ever,” Garcia said of the fundraiser. “We’re experiencing some challenges right now with the government funding being cut. That’s definitely having an impact on the amount the food bank has to distribute to friends and neighbors in The Region.”
The Food Bank ended up beating its fundraising goal, with a record-breaking $102,000 raised.
The event itself featured a variety of local organizations and chefs who help support the Food Bank in various ways, from Strack & Van Til, who has partnered with the food bank to help deliver holiday meals, to the Region Roots food hub, an arm of the NWI Food Council that helps provide fresh produce for meal deliveries.
Local chefs, including Tammy Pham of Asparagus and ACF Chefs of NWI President Gabe Rosado, prepared meals made from local produce, indicative of the kind of meals recipients can create from the Food Bank’s delivery boxes.
Food bank board member Tami Pae, who volunteers on weekends (and also gets hugs from recipients), said she felt it was important people realize and understand the high level of need within the community.
“During the work week, my biggest question is ‘when is this meeting going to be over?’” Pae said. “It’s kind of a joke. I’ve never had that fear of where or when my next meal is coming from. It’s moving to hear from people (at the delivery sites). ‘Without this, my kids won’t have food this week. I’m taking care of my ailing mom.’ It’s rewarding to see the impact.”
At least one group that remains in need are veterans; cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs threaten health care and other assistance to the veteran community, experts have warned.
Food bank volunteer and retired veteran Janie Little noted that although you can’t always tell who is (or isn’t) a veteran on the line waiting for food, there is plenty of worry within the community whether veterans will be able to receive the benefits they need.
“We often take things for granted,” Little said, who added she also does volunteer work with the American Legion in Gary. “It warms my heart to see how thankful people are. But volunteer work is something everyone should do, in order to see the real world. People looking for their next meal. If you’re in your own world, you don’t see the need that’s out there.”
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is located at 6490 Broadway, Merrillville. Those interested in learning more about volunteering opportunities or other questions can go to foodbanknwi.org.