Michele Bauman remembers the line of cars at the Avon Township Center Food Pantry on Nov. 1, when SNAP funding was set to lapse. It went “pretty far deep” onto the street, stopping traffic.
The line of people was “just huge,” with people panicking that they wouldn’t be able to feed their families, she said.
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“We ran out of food,” Bauman said.
With the shelves running empty, the food pantry had to turn people away.
“Having to say we’re out of food is devastating, and having to close the doors and just go back into my office knowing that there are cars still coming … we kept telling everybody, ‘We don’t have any food. We don’t have any food,’” she recalled.
But what might have marked a dark day for the local food pantry quickly became a story of a community rallying together, says Bauman, who is the Avon Township supervisor, highlighting the importance of the local community even as national news may seem grim.
That day, with the food pantry out of food, she posted on social media asking for help to refill the shelves. Unknown to her, it went “locally viral,” she said, and the next morning the food pantry had piles of donations at its door from residents and businesses.
It was a gratifying sign of the community’s support, Bauman said, and the pantry’s shelves have remained stocked since, even requiring the installation of a few more shelves to take on the increased donations.
Giving a tour of the food pantry on Friday, Bauman spoke excitedly about the schools, families and community members who have volunteered to put together meals or gather donations. A small team of volunteers staffed the food pantry, as residents came in and took their pick of items.
The small group of volunteers powering the pantry and other township services included Kathy Colwell, who lives in Fremont Township but volunteers with Avon.
Last year, she heard through a neighbor that the food pantry had run short, and went out to help gather donations and hand out flyers. The community response she witnessed was stirring, Colwell said.
“They were just opening their arms,” she said. “People who are older who live here were going to the grocery store and getting extra food. I saw people coming in not just daily, but hourly, sometimes bringing food, bringing clothes, bringing items that would really help people through this time.”
Colwell’s passion for volunteering was clear as she spoke about her experience. Today, she comes in three times a week, helping at the office. She said what she’s seen has been inspiring.
“It means hope, it truly does,” she said.
Local restaurant owner Michael Pruitt has run various charity events helping local food pantries and schools. It was through this work that he met Bauman, and when he saw her post, he and a local Realtor decided to step up.
Using boxes donated from a local Lowe’s manager, they set up donation bins at roughly 40 local businesses. He recalled at least eight trips with his SUV filled top to bottom with food donations, he said.
For Pruitt, the support he saw given from the community was “in line” with what he’s come to expect.
“When somebody needs help with something, people step up,” Pruitt said.
Ann Subry, who runs the fundraising arm of the Special Education District of Lake County, said she and Bauman collaborated back in November following the cuts to SNAP. According to Subry, 70% of SEDOL’s student population is eligible for free or reduced lunch, meaning the cuts were difficult for many families. Subry and Bauman worked together to get food to SEDOL’s families facing food shortages.
Subry praised the community for coming together, but also emphasized the role of Bauman herself. She was a key figure bringing it all together, Subry said, and continuing the work.
“It has to happen all year. It can’t just happen when there’s a crisis. The food pantry needs to be stacked at all times,” Subry said.
For Bauman, who said she could speak endlessly about the township’s volunteers, schools and community members, the event highlighted the role of townships. They are one of the closest levels of government to the people, she argues, and help community members get the support they need.
That can be food, like with their pantry, or a variety of different support. In a region of Lake County with areas of high need, such help can be critical for people, Bauman said.
“If they’re coming to the food pantry for food, what else is going on in their life? What else is going on that we could do to help them?” she said.
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On Friday, the shelves were full, and the volunteers were in good spirits. However, the parking lot was also filled with families, seniors and other residents lined up to pick up bags of food.
Bauman encourages people to get involved locally, however they can. “Pay it forward,” she argues, and help your neighbors, regardless of what the national news or the world looks like.
“Volunteering is a way to bring the community together,” Bauman said. “If we just focus on our community, we can find the good. Every day, I wake up and love going to my job, because I get to see the good, even though there’s bad, and the good will always outweigh the bad.”