U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) on March 24 joined members of the Ohio National Guard at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s East Side headquarters to assist them in packaging, transporting and distributing food to needy local residents in his home-state district.
“It was an honor to work with the staff of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank as well as members of the Ohio National Guard to help serve those in need,” Rep. Joyce said. “This is an unprecedented time, but we are in it together.”
The Greater Cleveland Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in northeast Ohio having served more than 350,000 people in Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Ashland, and Richland counties during 2019, according to information provided by Rep. Joyce’s office.
The congressman thanked the “dedicated and compassionate men and women” he worked alongside and said he was “thankful for everything the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and the Ohio National Guard are doing to support those who have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.”
This was the food bank’s second drive-thru distribution event in the last two weeks, and by the end of the day, they had served an estimated 4,000 people, according to Rep. Joyce’s office.
Kristin Warzocha, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, thanked Rep. Joyce “for taking the time during this crisis to help us distribute food to our neighbors in need.”
“We know that more and more people will continue to turn to us in the weeks and months ahead and we need to continue to be ready to meet the need,” she said.
Rep. Joyce added that he “was so impressed by the new drive-thru distribution system they’d set up to meet the increased demand for food during the outbreak while also prioritizing the health and safety of their volunteers and the people they serve.”