Bath High School’s Interact Club, sponsored by the Lima Rotary Club, is 75 members strong and committed to giving back. While each student is required to complete at least 24 hours of community service per year, many go far beyond that.

Volunteers help distribute around 2,000 meals and other items at the West Ohio Food Bank on Christmas Eve.

The West Ohio Food Bank opened its doors to local, state, and federal legislators on Monday. Lima mayor Sharetta Smith, Allen County commissioner Cory Noonan, and representatives from Congressmen Latta's and Jordan's offices were in attendance. They toured the facility, saw a monthly food distribution, and heard from food bank administrators about the need for additional funding to meet the needs of area residents to put food on the table. With the farm bill still at a standstill, food bank officials say they need funding and program updates.

The West Ohio Food Bank is making some changes to its senior food box distribution and wants to get the word out. The pick-up day for seniors to get their box of food remains the 3rd Tuesday of the month but will now be only an hour long. The commodities can be picked up from 9 am to 10 am starting in November. The boxes can contain canned vegetables, powdered potatoes, beef stew, noodles, milk, cereal, cheese, and more. The program is critical for hundreds of seniors in the region.

The USDA announces 1 billion dollars to help with food insecurity across the country. That money will be divided up nationwide and used to support places like the West Ohio Food Bank as they wait for the federal government to pass the farm bill to continue their funding. Half of the money will go to programs that work with farmers, growers, and producers for nutritional food options... The other half of the money will be used for additional food purchases by food banks from retailers and food manufacturers, which have been in decline.

September is Hunger Action Month, and the West Ohio Food Bank wants to make sure that no one in the community is hungry.

Many hands make light work, and that is just what happened at the West Ohio Food Bank today. More than 80 volunteers from the United Way's Day of Caring were at the food bank doing a variety of things. They helped on the food distribution line, assembled senior boxes of food, and even painted around the warehouse. The amount of work that was done with that number of people only took several hours instead of days or just being pushed off until later. 

Nourish, educate, and advocate for those facing food insecurity is the West Ohio Food Bank's new mission statement. September is Hunger Action Month, and the West Ohio Food Bank is working hard to end hunger in the 11 counties they serve. They are asking everyone to take action, whether it's donating, volunteering, or spreading the word online, because every action matters. Food bank officials say they are still seeing an increase in people who say they are living paycheck to paycheck and encourage anyone needing assistance to contact them.

More money, we just need more money. That was the message to United States Congressman Jim Jordan at the West Ohio Food Bank on Monday. Local and state food bank representatives got the congressman's ear as they gave him a tour of the facility. There is food on the shelves but more is needed to feed the increasing number of people facing food insecurity.