NORTH RIDGEVILLE — A plea from the North Ridgeville Lions Club to help restock shelves at North Ridgeville Community Care resulted in a record amount of food donations.
North Ridgeville Community Care has a food pantry but also offers wraparound services, including rental and utility assistance, clothing and household items, and an education fund that covers tuition and supplies like computers and textbooks. It provides support to hundreds of clients each month.
In August, North Ridgeville Community Care's CEO Heather Kaesegen said it had been experiencing a drop in food donations due to inflation, higher grocery costs and the fact that many families in Northeast Ohio had gone through severe storms that caused widespread damage and food loss.
Kaesegen said the situation had the organization spending about $1,200 a week that it had not budgeted to ensure families they work with could eat.
That predicament forced the Lions Club to move up its annual fall food drive, which included a competition between North Ridgeville City Schools and St. Peter School to see which building could collect the most items.
Tonya Stillwell, the Lions Club's public relations chairperson, said this year's efforts brought in 9,140.80 lbs of food. Last year's total was 7,120.93 lbs.
Stillwell said St. Peter School won the school competition for the third year in a row.
TOTALS (lbs of food):
- General Community Donations – 713.85
- St. Peter School – 4,452.34
- North Ridgeville Academic Center – 786.75
- Liberty Elementary – 722.86
- Early Childhood Education Center – 941.85
- North Ridgeville High School – 1,212.225
- Ranger High Tech Academy – 310.90
Stillwell said the senior class of 2025 won $250 for their class fund by bringing in 87 jars of peanut butter or jelly. Juniors brought in 78 jars, sophomores 55 jars and freshmen 36 jars.
The North Ridgeville Lions Club said it also received cash donations totaling $390.
