MENTOR — The Mentor Police Department hosted its eleventh annual Fill-a-Cruiser Food Drive in Lake County on Sunday. Over a hundred people showed up to donate non-perishable food items and cash donations.
Sgt. Steven Ondercin says the food and money will go to St. Mary’s and St. Bedes, local food pantries.
"They provide meals for those in need around the holiday time and they assist hundreds of families. We thought it'd be great to help them out a little bit,” Ondercin said.
Ondercin says with the help and support of the community, each year, the Mentor Police Department fills up at least three police cruisers and over 10 years, they have collected $19,000 in cash donations to help those in need.
Donator Reba Harper said she wanted to pay it forward and donated an entire basket of food.
“We had a time for a year when we both lost our jobs, and we relied on this kind of donation. So, we just wanted to pay it back,” Reba said.
Reba and Scott Harper know firsthand how food pantries can make a difference, especially during the holiday season.
“It's hard, especially when you have kids and they see everybody else getting presents, and you can't get them presents. And you don't have enough money for the big meal, it's tough,” Reba said.
Northeast Ohio food banks are reporting record numbers as food insecurity remains a common issue nationwide. According to Feeding America, one in eight Ohioans and one in seven Ohio children face food hunger.
“There's always a need to help those in the community, you don't know what people are going through and a little extra food at the holiday time really helps out a lot,” Ondercin said.
The Mentor Police Department announced on Facebook that they were able to fill up three police cruisers on Sunday and collect nearly $2,000 in cash donations.
