Mobile Food Pantries, Meal Packs For Kids Celebrated At Dearborn Co. Clearinghouse Event

The Hunger Awareness Event was held to raise money for the food pantry serving Dearborn, Ohio and Ripley county families.

United Way of Greater Cincinnati – Dearborn & Ohio Counties director Karen Snyder delivers the keynote address at the 2019 Hunger Awareness Event to benefit the Dearborn County Clearinghouse on Thursday, April 25. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Dearborn County, Ind.) - The Dearborn County Clearinghouse is on-the-go for southeastern Indiana families in need.

The Clearinghouse has added two mobile pantry vans this year, giving the pantry the ability to take free food to the elderly, sick and homebound in Dearborn, Ohio and Ripley counties. The new mobile pantry operation was made possible by grants from the Baylor Family Foundation and the Dearborn Community Foundation.

The organizations were thanked during the Clearinghouse’s annual Hunger Awareness Event held Thursday evening at the Lawrenceburg Event Center.

United Way of Greater Cincinnati – Dearborn & Ohio Counties director Karen Snyder was the keynote speaker. She said her position has given her the pleasure of working with many non-profits in the community.

“It lets me see all the different needs in all the areas that we need to help and support, to help families get their next meal, get that certificate, or become financially stable, or help some children learn to read. We are always looking for the gaps where help is truly needed and where we can make it happen,” Snyder said.

“Our work is far from over. We need to continually think about how do we improve that and how do we make their lives better. They come in and we give them food, but why do we need that food? There are ways that we can partner and organize to make sure that we can take them to the next level.”

The Clearinghouse’s Sacks of Snacks program is in its fifth year. This year, it expanded to cover every public elementary school in Dearborn County by adding North Dearborn and Bright elementary schools.

Clearinghouse board member and Aurora Elementary School principal Mary Bailey said more than 450 bags of meals are packed at the pantry each week, then delivered on Fridays to young students in need.

“This program began because many students did not have adequate food and supplies at home on weekend and during our breaks,” Bailey said.

Attendees of the event were asked to donate or volunteer to help the Clearinghouse, which serves more than 2,300 clients. The money and time given to the non-profit support programs including the mobile pantry, Sacks of Snacks, Coalition for Children’s Christmas Toys, rescue packs through local libraries, and more.  

“It takes a lot of power and funds to make this happen,” said Bailey.

Learn about the Dearborn County Clearinghouse at www.dearbornclearinghouse.com.

Eagle Country 99.3’s Mike Perleberg was honored to serve as the master of ceremonies at the event.

Honored to be the master of ceremonies at the Dearborn County Clearinghouse Hunger Awareness Dinner fundraiser tonight! #WinnerWinnerHungerAwarenessDinner pic.twitter.com/qxxmq9A45p

— Mike Perleberg (@MikedUp84) April 25, 2019