Feeding Medina County, Medina to hold food distribution on Tuesday

MEDINA — Bags of groceries will soon be available to Medina residents in need as the city administration has collaborated with Feeding Medina County to hold a special food distribution on Tuesday. The distribution will be at the Medina Fairgrounds Community Center, 735 Lafayette Road, 5-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. No registration is required. "We are excited to be doing this distribution with the support of the city of Medina for city residents," Feeding Medina County Executive Director Janet Newcomer said. "We think the timing is important because it falls between the holidays, which we know is, financially, for many people, a very stressful time." Last month, Medina City Council authorized a donation of up to $50,000 to Feeding Medina County to assist city residents in need of food assistance. Both Medina Finance Committee and Council discussed the potential donation during their respective meetings on Nov. 24, stating the donation was a result of the federal government's shutdown and its effects on people's SNAP benefits. While the federal government's shutdown had been resolved by that time and SNAP benefits were going out to families, Medina City Council President John Coyne said it's still important to support those in the community who were negatively affected. Newcomer said the special food distribution was scheduled for the evening to accommodate more people who may be working in the afternoon. During the federal government's shutdown in October and early November, Feeding Medina County held an emergency food distribution on Nov. 4 at Buckeye Woods Park. Newcomer said several people commented that they would have liked a later start time, as the Nov. 4 emergency distribution was 3:30-5 p.m. If someone is unable to make Tuesday's distribution, people can designate someone as a proxy, which permits Feeding Medina County to give the bags of food to someone who will then pass it along to the respective client. The proxy form can be found at feedingmedinacounty.org/programs. Newcomer said food recipients will receive items like eggs, butter, cheese, bread, fresh vegetables and frozen protein. "It's a well-rounded distribution with not just food, but groceries that families will be able to prepare meals with," Newcomer said. The city administration said senior SNAP recipients living within the city limits who are unable to drive to Tuesday's distribution and are recipients of Feeding Medina County's senior distribution will receive their regular distribution with added food from the Council's project. Newcomer is grateful for the city's support, noting that city staff will volunteer their time for Tuesday's distribution. She's expecting Council members, city administrators and staff members from several departments to participate. "I am proud to be part of a city council that approved funds and partnered with Feeding Medina County to ensure that city families facing hunger have access to nutritious food. This reflects the city of Medina's commitment to building a community where no one is left behind," Coyne said in a statement. "I want to thank Ward 1 Councilman Chet Simmons for taking the lead in organizing this event, and a special thanks to the Feeding Medina County staff for providing guidance and logistics. They are real pros at getting food into the hands of people that need it." Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.