Thirty two counties in eastern
Ohio are considered part of Appalachia, and the stereotypical images of that
region's poverty – ramshackle houses, dilapitated barns, small businesses and
large factories long shut down – are scattered throughout. Mahoning County, abutting the
Pennsylvania state line, about midway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, is
Exhibit A. Some 17 percent of the county's 240,000-plus residents, including
almost 26 percent of its children, live below the poverty line.
Shonie Garono knows the situation
all too well. In 2008, her husband, Anthony, was laid off from his steel mill
job (he remains unemployed), and her income as a hairdresser didn't support the
family. Though family members have helped to feed the Garonos' four children,
the couple struggles to pay every bill and has come close to foreclosure a
couple times.
Cathy and Brian French know, too.
Cathy stays home with their four kids while Brian works as a diesel technician,
repairing semi-trucks. But as the cost of living rose and Brian's pay didn’t –
it wasn't long before the family was falling $200 to $300 short in their
monthly budget. They have never missed a rent payment and regularly pay utility
bills, but even with scrimping and stretching, they often run out of milk and
meat until Brian's next pay period. They have resorted to rolling quarters and
dimes to pay for Brian's commute.
Where to turn for help?
For these
families and many others in Mahoning, the answer is a 22,000-square-foot
warehouse in the middle of nowhere. The Big Reach Center of Hope, a 501(c)(3)
ministry of Greenford Christian Church, is a food pantry and distribution
center situated in a town so small it's an unincorporated dot on the Ohio map.
But its reach is indeed big: The center, which serves five counties, has
provided food and clothing to nearly 150,000 individuals since its inauspicious
opening in 2004, including 70,000 individuals in 2010 alone, making it one of
Ohio's biggest food pantries. (The largest, Freestore Food Bank's Customer Connections
Center, based in Cincinnati, serves about 90,000 clients annually.)
Some clients drive nearly two
hours to Big Reach. For those who cannot make the trek, the ministry supplies
food to 25 partner pantries in the region, giving tentacles to its centralized
location. The largest nearby city,
Youngstown, and the rest of the Mahoning Valley area has been especially hard
hit by the faltering economy, feeling the impact before most of America, says
Big Reach co-founder and director Scott Lewis: “We knew there was a recession
before the government did.”
According to the U.S. Department
of Labor, the Youngstown area's unemployment rate has more than doubled in
three years, from 6.2 percent in 2007 to 14 percent in June 2010. By October
2010, the rate had improved to 10.6 percent, still higher than the national
average of 9.2 percent. A rapidly shrinking population, from 166,000 in 1960 to
82,000 today, complicates Youngstown’s situation primarily due to the loss of
steel and manufacturing industries.
‘I tell our volunteers to
envision themselves on the other side. Many of our clients never thought they'd
be here.’ ˜ Scott Lewis, Big Reach director
But while Youngstown has its own
food pantries and homeless ministries, Big Reach serves mostly people from the
surrounding fields and farms, a microcosm of rural poverty in America. (See “A
Developing Nation Inside the U.S.”)
Howard Jones, 66, is the face of
such poverty. A resident of nearby Lisbon, Jones had been a millwright at a
steel mill, “the whole bread and butter” of the area and an industry that has
essentially vanished, for 27 years. When Jones retired, he began visiting Big
Reach to fill the gaps left over after Social Security. He estimates that 90
percent of his monthly groceries come from the ministry. “I can't take my wife
out to dinner any more,” Jones says, “but God's always provided for me.”
Humble
Beginnings:
Big Reach's 2004 launch was
modest enough. Lewis and other Greenford Christian members simply wanted to
help children from low-income families in their church and community. They held
a one-day "Big Reach Back to School" event, providing kids with
school supplies and families with food, clothing, and personal care products.
Soon after, they launched the Giving Tree, a food and clothing distribution
center in the nondenominational church's basement.
By 2006, they were providing food
and clothing to nearly 8,000 individuals, and the demand kept increasing. That
fall, WYTV (ABC'S Youngstown affiliate) and local businesses sponsored the Mahoning
County Extreme Makeover: My Hometown to build the Big Reach Center of Hope –
complete with offices, a kitchen, and a massive warehouse – in 10 days. The
warehouse sits on the property of the church, which paid for about 20 percent
of the $1.2 million project, with corporations and individuals donating the
rest in materials, labor, and furnishings.
Today, Greenford Christian
provides the center's leadership, staff, some funding, and most of its
volunteers. Church administrator Bruce Rhoades Jr. says 23 cents of every
dollar given to the church goes to missions; of that, 8 percent – about $50,000
a year – goes to Big Reach. The rest of the center's annual budget of
approximately $200,000 comes from individuals, grants, and corporations. Its
staffs are always seeking ways to bring in more food and funding.
Seeing
the Other Side:
When his children were young, Big
Reach's Lewis went through a difficult financial time and, as a last resort,
visited a food bank. He was embarrassed and feared he'd be looked down upon,
but instead he was treated with respect. The experience is seared into his
memory: "I want the people here to be treated with respect like I
was," says the soft-spoken Lewis, who trains his volunteers to treat each
client as a person with specific needs facing a particularly trying time. “I
tell them to envision themselves on the other side. Many of our clients never
thought they'd be here.”
One-way staff respect the dignity
of clients is allowing them to have a shopping experience rather than handing
them a pre-packaged box of food. During Big Reach's twice-a-week distributions,
volunteers walk clients through the grocery section, partly to ensure the
allotted amount of food is taken. (A family allotment is based on two criteria:
the amount of a particular product in stock, and family size as it relates to a
serving size of food.) Clients are also allowed to take a limited supply of
toiletries. Most families leave with a basket with three or four meals, plus
clothing, housewares, and sometimes a toy or two. (Christianity Today explored
the benefits of client choice at food pantries in the December 2010 issue's
news section.)
Katherine Yoder, 40, has been on
both sides of Big Reach's kindness – first as a recipient, then as a volunteer.
Five years ago, after a divorce and with little income, she visited the center.
“Everyone was so warm and welcoming,” she said. “People smiled and asked how
they could help. I felt at peace.” Now remarried and with a blended family,
Yoder volunteers at the pantry. This is another of its dignifying aspects: It
allows clients who have logged at least 20 volunteer hours to shop one extra
time on distribution days. Yoder occasionally visits as a client when finances
are tight, but now mostly takes the food she earns through volunteering.
“It Gets
Us Through”:
At a recent distribution, some
clients lined up more than four hours before the 5 p.m. start. They were as
diverse as they were eager. One young couple was in grad school; several
elderly men and women were on disability; others had small children in tow,
including Garono, who brought her 5-year-old triplets and her mother.
Later, as daughter Julie found a
doll she liked in the toy section, Garono spoke of Big Reach as a lifeline:
“It's so wonderful. The food, the toys—they help so much, you wouldn't believe.
It gets us through.”
Clients’ financial status varies
significantly. Many listed in the Big Reach database report an income of $800
or less a month. Some have no income; some are living in cars. Lewis says most
of his clients come from chronically poor family systems and are unemployed or
underemployed. He estimates that 60 percent are on welfare. Though it's not
required, Lewis mostly follows guidelines from the usda's Emergency Food
Assistance Program. “Most people we help fall below the poverty level,” he
says. “I try to never turn anyone away. If they've been turned down for food
stamps because they are $10 above [the limit], I take them in.”
Such work takes its toll on the
volunteers, who see the pain of poverty up close day after day. "Sometimes
they see a friend or family member they didn't know was struggling," says
Lewis. “It tugs on our hearts.” Though Lewis has plenty of volunteers – some
150 throughout the year – he sometimes
struggles to keep them motivated in an environment where clients are in such
need and interactions are so emotionally taxing. “You sometimes ask yourself,
What are we doing this for?”
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams,
meanwhile, says he’s “almost moved to tears” by Big Reach's work. “The level of
compassion and sophistication is incredible. It's a significant force of
positive outreach in this community. We are much better off for it.”
Cathy and Brian French agree. In
the midst of their struggles, a friend suggested that Cathy visit Big Reach for
help with groceries. When she found out clients could volunteer to work, she
signed up immediately. “I didn't feel quite as guilty about going through the
line and getting free food because I feel like I'm working for it,” says
French. She now volunteers 20 hours a week and says the food she receives
provides 60-75 percent of their groceries, which allows her to stay on top of
bills.
Lewis hears story after story
like that, but still can't believe it. “I can't explain the building being
here,” he says. “I can't explain Big Reach being here. God is in control. It’s
a God thing.”
(Written by Nicole Russell – The Big Reach Center of Hope, the unrecalled date/year
of published time)
Prayer Response to this featured article:
Pray, we’ll be willing to help
the poor. Pray, we’ll provide food for people who are dying of hunger.
