Douglass Community Services Called On Step Up Food Distribution
One Hannibal organization in the business of making sure people in need have adequate food now find that recent events will cause them to potentially feed even more.
The umbrella at Douglass Community Services includes a number of food pantry services that serve the community in general and targeted groups in particular.
Along with their emergency food pantry, distribution services hosted by Douglass, in partnership with USDA, include commodity distribution once a month and monthly food boxes for seniors and veterans.
According to Douglass Development Director Stacey Nicholas, the food pantry at First United Methodist Church in Hannibal closed in December. "That food pantry was the only food pantry in what is technically downtown Hannibal. So now, Douglass is the closest pantry for the clients who had been using that one. So we've seen an increase in clients but not an increase in resources or supplies. And that becomes troubling for us."
In a KHMO Talk Back conversation, Nicholas told us that 500 families were already being served by the various Douglass food services, with over half those clients being either over 60 or under 18.
She says the Douglass food pantry is not meant to be a grocery store. It's a place where people come in case their money or their state benefits run out before the end of the month.
Nicholas told us that any donations of food or money to help Douglass pick up the slack in community food distribution needs would be greatly appreciated.
You can find out how to help by going here.