Freestore Foodbank starts month-long food distribution ahead of Thanksgiving

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - The Freestore Foodbank is wasting no time getting food to families in need as Thanksgiving approaches.

The foodbank kicked off its annual Thanksgiving food distribution on Monday.

Usually, the event starts the week of Thanksgiving, but due to the pandemic, the foodbank decided this year to go the full month to minimize crowding.

Kurt Reiber, Freestore Foodbank president, says he’s seen a rise of families in need since the pandemic began.

“Seventy-five percent of all the families who have come to our large-scale food distributions during the pandemic had never stepped foot in one of our pantries,” Reiber said. “So being able to have access to food in a safe way and a safe manner is really critical.”

Jacqueline Duhon was shopping for six different families in East Price Hill on Monday. She says without help from the foodbank, some of those families would have had to make some tough choices.

“I’ve had people decide if they are going to feed their kitty cats or if they’re going to buy food,” Duhon said.

Anyone in the Tri-State area needing help can stop by the foodbank’s customer connection center on East Liberty Street to pick up a meal.

There will also be two drive-thru distributions on Nov. 18 at the Reds Youth Academy and on Nov. 20 at Immanuel United Methodist Church.

You need an ID and a social security card for each person in the household to shop at the Foodbank.

”We still know that there are families out there trying to make ends meet, so the Freestore Food Bank has been there over the past 20 months making sure that families in our tristate community are getting the food that they need but also especially during the holidays.”

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