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.

LIMA, OH (WLIO) - The West Ohio Food Bank says they have seen a 19% increase in families served since the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, they have been working hard to make sure those who need assistance can make the contacts that can help them. The West Ohio Food Bank's annual resource fair and food distribution is scheduled for Monday, June 3rd. It will include a number of non-profits, businesses, and medical services on hand with information about their services. You will be able to enjoy lunch and go through to get your food distribution.

The West Ohio Food Bank has a few area distributions coming up this weekend. The first food drive will be tomorrow, June 18 at the Ohio Northern University Dial-Roberson Stadium off of Klinger Road. It will run from 10 AM to Noon if the weather permits. There are two more drives this Saturday, June 19 from 9 to 11 AM. One is at Victory Center Church of God in Wapakoneta. The other is at St. John's Mennonite Church in Pandora.

The wet weather Friday morning didn't stop the West Ohio Food Bank and volunteers from feeding families in Auglaize County. National Guard members and parishioners from the St. Paul United Church of Christ in Wapakoneta braved the rain for a food drive at the fairgrounds. Dozens of families were served, and thousands of pounds of food were hauled during the couple of cold hours. Jason Aldrich, the WOFB Communications & Public Relations Manager, says they still make sure to get distributions out, even on days like Friday.

Today marks a special anniversary for the West Ohio Food Bank and their ability to help families during the pandemic. It was one year ago today that 23 Ohio National Guard members arrived in Lima to help feed the community during many shutdowns. The CEO of the West Ohio Food Bank, Tommie Harner, says over the last 12 months, they and Guard members have held over 200 food distributions. These events have amounted to a record 14 million pounds of food provided. This has been able to feed even more families in the 11-county area than before.

The West Ohio Food Bank was able to serve dozens of families last minute at a pop-up food distribution on Wednesday. After having leftovers following a drive in Mercer County on Tuesday, the food bank decided to send out Ohio National Guard members to feed even more. Within the first hour, 115 families were served at the Ottawa Metro Park in Lima. Lieutenant Janira May with the guard says being able to still provide these events for families nearly a year into the pandemic has been rewarding.

Normally, The Mike Gallmeier Foundation hosts its own food distribution every other month, but they knew the public was in higher need. When they reached out to The West Ohio Food Bank, they happily agreed to sponsor a pop-up distribution. While the foundation usually caters to those living in Delphos, today's event reached several counties. The organization's President and Gallmeier's widow says her husband was all about helping the community.