Foodbank Mobile Pantry to pop up in Yellow Springs

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YELLOW SPRINGS — The Foodbank in Dayton will be opening a new Mobile Pantry in Yellow Springs. The Foodbank, which has previously held mass distributions of food at the Nutter Center and other locations across the Miami Valley, will open May 20.

The mobile pantry will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. every third Thursday of the month, at First Baptist Church, 600 Dayton St.

The Foodbank partnered with the University of Dayton, which conducted a service gap analysis to identify places where food insecurity is highest. Using data about where clients live and plotting existing brick and mortar food pantries, UD compiled their findings into a “service gap map” for Greene County. The analysis found that Yellow Springs and Bowersville, located outside of Jamestown, had pockets of residents, or bubbles, with the highest need.

“We’ve worked with UD for a number of years to help identify areas of need and help route our trucks,” said Lee Lauren Truesdale, chief development officer at The Foodbank. “We see high need in Yellow Springs, so we started a mobile farmers market in that location.”

The goal is to have a food pantry within five miles of a given bubble, Truesdale said. The Foodbank also operates a pantry in Jamestown, which they plan to encourage Bowersville residents to take advantage of.

“Our partnership with The University of Dayton is invaluable because it allows us to pinpoint where we are needed most,” The Foodbank CEO Michelle L. Riley said. “Our vision is that no one should go hungry, and this software helps us do just that. We are looking forward to serving the Yellow Springs and Greene County community.”

The Foodbank supplies food to 116 local non-profit partner agency food pantries, and operates outreach programs such as the Mobile Farmer’s Markets and on-site warehouse drive-thru to increase access to emergency food assistance, according to a release. There are over 106,000 food insecure individuals in the service area of Montgomery, Greene, and Preble counties. In Greene County, 12 percent of individuals are food insecure, according to The Foodbank.

The mobile pantry is open to anyone in need of food assistance.

By London Bishop

[email protected]

Reach London Bishop at 937-502-4532 or follow @LBishopFDH on Twitter.

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