LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) – Northwest Ohio takes pride in helping its military veterans, and Jefferson Award winner Betsy Potts is a veteran herself who leaves no soldier behind or hungry.
Our military veterans make the ultimate sacrifice defending the freedoms we enjoy every day. But when they return home, who gives them a helping hand to enjoy the freedoms they’ve fought to protect?
One of those helping hands is Lima's Betsy Potts, the director of the Veteran's Food Pantry of Northwest Ohio.
"It's just my way of life since I retired, and I've been here for 15 years now. I started out just handing out the food, and then I became a co-director, and then I became the lone director," said Betsy Potts, 2025 Jefferson Award Winner and Director of the Northwest Ohio Veterans Food Pantry.
A Lima native and Lima Central Catholic graduate, Betsy was instilled from a young age to appreciate the service of military veterans. She even served in the Marine Corps herself. Now, she helps the veterans of Northwest Ohio who fought for freedom by fighting food insecurity.
"Oh yeah, everybody knows Betsy by her first name. She's a great, great person. I've actually volunteered here since 2019. They (the veterans) know they're welcome. They know if they need food, she would not let anybody go without food. Like I said, even during COVID, there were some weeks where the food bank couldn't provide us with meat, where she just tried to make things happen," said Jeff Adams, Local 1219 Union President and NWO Veterans Food Pantry Volunteer.
Potts helps the veterans of Northwest Ohio who fought for freedom by fighting food insecurity.
For 15 years, Betsy has made it a priority to take care of veterans, serving not only the food pantry but also working with the American Legion, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the Union Veterans, as an officer in the Marine Corps League, and many others. All this community dedication, and she does it with a smile and a salute to those who served the nation.
"It's truly amazing. It tells you about her commitment and dedication and her heart, because some would have probably given up long ago, and some would have given up during COVID, because, I mean, the guidelines and everything were pretty tough to go with, but she battled through it, and here we are," Adams added.
"It's nice when somebody comes in and says how much they've enjoyed going through, how very personal our volunteers are. I have 18 volunteers. I could not do this without them, and they're all here ready to help, and they're the ones that keep me going," Potts said.
2025 Jefferson Award winner Betsy Potts is a military veteran who serves her community in more ways than one by helping her fellow veterans eat good in the neighborhood.
