Expanding Food Access
“Being able to serve those in poverty in the Southeast Ohio community has been both an inspiring and humbling experience. Along with my experience with our neighbors, I have been very lucky to be surrounded by the awesome staff here at the SEO Foodbank and Hocking Athens Perry Community Action.”
As the HAPCAP for Health Market VISTA member at the Southeast Ohio Foodbank, Lane Fell has had the awesome opportunity to open Southeast Ohio’s first choice-style market pantry! Ensuring the pantry inventory is stocked with a variety of food options, they supervise volunteers and ensure that neighbors visiting the market have a positive shopping experience. Recently, Lane has also entered the world of grant applications as their team looks to diversify its funding and sustainably provide essential resources to the community. Alongside grant writing, Lane has also been working tirelessly to establish a school-based pantry pilot program in partnership with an Athens County elementary school.
“We expect the pantry to be open by the end of February with shelf-stable goods, frozen/refrigerated items, fresh produce, and an awesome mural painted by some of the students!” says Lane.
Of all their projects this year, Lane is most proud of having played a role in opening these two new pantries in the area. Being part of these projects, they have developed everything from operating procedures and inventory tracking systems to volunteer training guides and promotional materials. This experience has proved a great learning opportunity for Lane.
“Being involved in these projects allowed for me to experience many of the administrative steps there are before moving forward with a program of this sort,” they say. “As someone who wants to continue in the non-profit world, my service has taught me to approach projects with both patience and persistence in order to see them through, as things can get held up for reasons that may be out of your control.”
In service, Lane feels they have made a lasting contribution to both their host site and community by growing food access through choice-style pantries. Looking ahead to the future, they hope that these pantries will open the way to establishing additional choice-style pantries throughout the Southeast Ohio Foodbank’s service territory. By providing a grocery store-like experience to neighbors, this pantry model grows food access while also mitigating food waste.
“Being able to serve those in poverty in the Southeast Ohio community has been both an inspiring and humbling experience,” they say. “Along with my experience with our neighbors, I have been very lucky to be surrounded by the awesome staff here at the SEO Foodbank and Hocking Athens Perry Community Action.”
Great work, Lane!
