Food pantry in Greene County expanding to deal with growing need

XENIA — A food pantry in the Miami Valley has big plans for its future as it deals with a growing need.

>>PHOTOS: Food pantry in Greene County expanding to deal with growing need

The Greene County Fish Pantry in Xenia is working on a major capital project in hopes to feed more people in the community.

News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis says the pantry is seeing more people come through its doors on Cincinnati Avenue. The need is growing, and the pantry wants to meet it but can’t do it alone.

The Greene County Fish Pantry fed between 700-900 families a month in the first five months of 2022.

Lewis says this year the numbers are over 1,000. This includes at least 1,400 in May.

“The emergency food stamp benefits stopped in February,” said Gail Matson, Greene County Fish Pantry Executive Director. “And a lot of the families that we had not seen here, they had been going to the grocery store with their food stamps are now starting to come back here as well.”

She told Lewis inflation may also be a factor.

“They work, they put gas in their car, they go to work, they come back,” she said. “They pay their mortgage or rent, they pay their utilities, a car payment, there’s nothing left for food.”

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“We just got donated six skids of Bob Evans’ sausage,” Matson told Lewis.

She also said the pantry’s food donations are also down and are asking for help.

“Anything,” she said. “Food, dry goods, we can take food donations or monetary donations.”

Lewis says Phericia Fichtner lives in Xenia and goes to the pantry from time to time.

“They help a lot of people over there, and I heard they were down on the donations and stuff,” she said. “It’s a good place, a lot of people depend on them. Prices have gone up.”

Lewis says the Greene County Fish Pantry has a plan.

Greene County Commissioners have agreed to donate the pantry’s building and land to the non-profit. That will allow it to make money by offering rights to companies and organizations that want to put their name on pantry property.

It is also beginning a $1.2 million capital fundraising campaign.

Matson said some of the money will go toward building a new building with space for a freezer and cooler so it can cut future costs by accepting more donated food instead of buying it.

“Even though our numbers are rising, I don’t want to turn anybody away. I want to ensure that we have enough food and everything to help them and get them going.”

Lewis says the fundraising campaign starts on June 19.

If all goes well, the pantry wants to break ground on the new building in the fall.

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