Thousands line up for food giveaway in downtown Youngstown

Loads of folks line up as early at 7:00 am,

with boxes and bags in hand to receive food

which they believe, will help their dollar stretch.

Here are my two cents about Y-Town:


The Mobile Express was present at one of the largest food distributions we have ever been to. Russ and I were impressed by event organization and the generosity of New Life Church and Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley. Below is a link to the story on the news in Youngstown:

Thousands line up for food giveaway in downtown Youngstown - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

Within the video you can see our gracious host and friend Mike Iberis who is executive director of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley. He invited us to participate in this event as well as join him on the local morning show at NBC. We have not found footage of that but word is that many of the Youngstownians were up that early and actually thought we have a good message--I guess there was not too much sleep in my eyes at 5:30 am!

Here you can see the sea of green volunteers.

So many hands made light work and they seemed happy to be of service.

Volunteers prepared and handed out food, painted faces, dished ice cream cones, performed for those in line and shepherded folks throughout the process.

Snapped this picture late in the day after 6000 people came through the line to receive over 200,000 lbs of food. Pictured here: Second Harvest Food Bankers Angie Hakeem, Mark Litzinger and our very own Russell Allen.

On a side note, Mike Iberis took us out to eat at a lovely restaurant called Alberini's--one of the best meals I have had. Just a snippet of what we experienced: warm pepperoni bread fresh from the oven, succulent pork chop atop a mound of mashed potatoes, penne pasta with broccoli, a tour of the wine cellar, traditional Italian cookies and a goodbye hug from Mrs. Alberini! I fully intend to visit this establishment again--thanks Mike!

Massive Food Distribution in Youngstown

We'll probably have more on this in the near future, but WFMJ, Youngstown's NBC affiliate, did a piece on a food distribution that served approximately 2,400 families. Naturally, the OBB Mobile was there, and we have the video to prove it.

You can get the best look at us between 1:23 and 1:28.

We performed over a hundred quick checks in only five hours and spoke to hundreds and hundreds of people in need. We were proud to be there.

A special thank you to Mahoning Valley Second Harvest Executive Director Mike Iberis. He's featured in that video as well and he showed us the ropes during our two night stay in Youngstown. He took us to a favored Italian restaurant and it was a true "wow" experience.

Old Fashioned Prison Garb

A few weeks ago, Erin and I went to Fremont, Sandusky's county seat for a reentry fair. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but people released from Ohio's prisons are an incredibly underserved population in terms of benefits. Finding a job in Ohio is hard enough without having a felony on your record. These people need support and often don't ask for it.

So, the reentry fair! There were dozens of agencies and organizations there to help people being released from prison foster a productive life on the outside. And we were there to make sure people knew about The Benefit Bank and got food assistance and other benefits as soon as possible.

The locals jails actually drove some currently incarcerated people to the event to get a head start on the entire reentry process. Now, Erin and I aren't allowed to electronically submit applications until these guys are out of the clink. That's a no-no. But we can fill out the applications and hand over a physical copy that will be ready to go out the door whenever the client is ready to go out the door. It's one less step. And we were happy to help these clients leave with six pieces of paper that would likely transform into $200 in SNAP Benefits every month.

I would like to make one aside. The prisoners at the event were all wearing the same uniform. That makes sense. Now imagine that uniform. What did you think of? I always associate prisoners with bright orange. But that wasn't the case in Fremont. See for yourself:

robble, robble

I did not picture that. This amazed me. People still have the black and white horizontal striped uniforms? I have literally never seen these before outside the world of cartoons. When I see these clothes, I picture someone tying a lady to railroad tracks or stealing a big sack with a dollar sign on it.

I think I prefer the orange. It looks good. Yellow works too.

the one-armed man was probably eligible for Medicaid

OBB Express is Fairtastic!

The Ohio Department of Insurance invited us to join them at the Ohio State Fair. Making people aware of what insurance options may be available and anticipating changes through health care reform, we shared what we know with the general public as they visited with the 1st lady, listened to a beautiful barbershop quartet and spinned the wheel of knowledge. Fun day, lots of people and only a drizzle of rain (our awning came in handy).

Our day in pictures:

Festive venue

Lori Stewart from the Department of Insurance, mans the wheel

Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland, Ohio Department of Aging Director Barbara E. Riley

and Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson visit OBB on Senior Day

Ohio First Lady Frances Strickland and our very own Russell Allen chat about how the Ohio Benefit Bank works.

We were treated to an all lady barbershop quartet:

A fun spectacle at the fair--one among many! Tree Guy:

Put-In-Bay Here We Come!

We had the opportunity to travel across the water to the South Bass Island by ferry. We attended a resource fair for locals where they could find information about many resources including hospice, home health care, 211, child care services, as well as Benefit Bank services.

The editor of the local newspaper came by to snap pictures and tell the story of how the Benefit Bank and other organizations could help those on the island. While there, she shared that in her own experience, she did not know where to turn when her father, who has Alzheimer's, needed home health care. She expressed relief and comfort knowing there are resources available. Her story is not uncommon, we often don't think about things until we find ourselves in need.

Russell and I often talk with folks who have had jobs all of their lives and find themselves laid off or with unemployment running out. They express that they don't have a clue what benefits are available to them. Conducting Quick Checks and shepherding these folks through the enrollment process is an important support during confusing times.

The trip to Put-In-Bay was beautiful. Our van was nestled among other vehicles on the deck and we were able to sit up on the observation deck as we traveled across the lake to the island.

As we participated in the resource fair we found ourselves asking questions about food stamps and learned that none of the stores on the island accept them. Folks travel to the mainland to do their shopping. The ferry costs $6.50 one way and takes about a half hour travel time. This seems doable until you consider that in the winter, when the water is frozen, ferry service is not available. The only way to travel is by plane for $50 one way.

Given this, our Benefit Bank counsellors visited the local grocer and opened dialog about becoming a food stamp vendor. You never know what is possible.

A big thank you to Gayle Loyola for inviting us--fun times, meaningful work and good food. (I am all about the food ;-)

Tonya Bailey, Benefit Bank extraordinaire, and

newly appointed OBB Regional Coordinator

is sporting the vacation look on the deck.

Nothing but blue here......