Five Stark County organizations fighting hunger shared $25,000 on Monday, November 9, as Liberty HealthShare presented $5,000 grants to each of them at its second annual Day of Sharing in Canton, according to a Liberty HealthShare press release issued through PR Newswire.
The grants, awarded through the ministry’s Sharing Hearts Fund, went to the Alliance Community Pantry, City Serve Food Pantry & Café, Compassion Delivered, Feed Kids First, and Lake Township FISH, Liberty HealthShare said in the release. The money will help the five organizations put food on the tables of thousands of individuals and families facing food insecurity throughout Stark County.
With this year’s awards, Liberty HealthShare has contributed $50,000 to local hunger relief organizations through its first two annual Days of Sharing, the release said — a second-year return that turns a one-time presentation into a standing commitment to the county where the Canton-based ministry is headquartered.
“Whether distributing groceries to families, providing food to children through school-based pantries, or delivering nutritious meals to people facing serious illnesses, these organizations provide essential assistance to our neighbors throughout Stark County,” Liberty HealthShare chief executive officer Dorsey Morrow said in the company’s press release. “We’re proud to support their efforts for the second consecutive year and help them continue this important work.”
The five recipients cover the county’s hunger map in different ways: a community pantry in Alliance, a pantry and café ministry, delivered meals for people facing serious illness, school-based food for children, and a township food program in Lake Township. Together they reach families who may never walk into the same building — the school pantry catches a child on a weekday, the delivered meal reaches a patient at home, and the township program serves neighbors who know it by name.
Liberty HealthShare said in the release that the challenges facing Stark County hunger organizations extend well beyond the headlines: rising food costs, growing demand from families experiencing financial hardship, reductions in government funding, and declining charitable donations continue to strain the resources of organizations providing critical food assistance to local families. The same squeeze is visible across northeast Ohio — in Wayne County, a drive-thru pantry is returning this week as food need climbs in Wooster, as we reported in our coverage of the Wooster pantry’s return.
“At Liberty HealthShare, we believe being a force for good means making a positive difference in the communities we serve,” Morrow said in the press release. “Through our Sharing Hearts Fund, we’re able to help families facing medical challenges, support organizations fighting hunger, and bring hope to those who need it most.”
Morrow added in the release: “Our Christian faith calls us to care for those in need. In Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus tells us that when we feed the hungry and care for others, we are serving Him. Our Day of Sharing is one way we put that teaching into action.” Liberty HealthShare describes itself as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Christian medical cost-sharing ministry whose members help each other in times of need.
The Sharing Hearts Fund has previously provided healthcare assistance to local families, joined with Akron Children’s Hospital to help families in Stark and Summit counties pay for medical care for their children, and awarded grants to organizations addressing food insecurity, according to the release. Earlier this year it announced a $100,000 initiative to support churches serving vulnerable populations in Northeast Ohio.
Liberty HealthShare said all dollars awarded through Sharing Hearts are generated through donations and grants that are separate and distinct from the operational funding of the ministry, and that anyone wishing to support the fund can make tax-deductible donations on Liberty HealthShare’s website. Community giving of this kind is a recurring Stark County story this fall — neighbors in Springfield recently renovated an Iraq veteran’s home ahead of Veterans Day, as we covered in that Good News Ohio report.
What happens next is on the pantry shelves. The five organizations will put the $5,000 grants toward food and operations as demand rises into the holiday season — traditionally the busiest stretch of the year for food programs. Liberty HealthShare said the Day of Sharing is now an annual event in its second year, which gives Stark County’s hunger organizations a date they can plan around again next fall.
Photo: Niagara66, CC BY-SA