Food Banks Step Up Amid Hunger in Action Awareness Month

TWIN PORTS- September is National Hunger in Action month, and food banks and shelters in the Northland are doing their part in helping the community.

The pandemic continues to impact people in different ways, leaving many hungry as they sometimes need to choose between buying food and paying bills.

Chum in Duluth is helping the community by making their food shelf available to the public every Monday and Wednesday and offering delivery options every other Tuesday and Thursday of the month.

“We offer a bunch of free produce and we have prepacked boxes for folks that are in need,” said CHUM Director of Distribution Services Scott Van Daele. “We have a plethora of canned goods, meat, and dairy, and pretty much anything and everything you need to stock your fridge.”

On the other side of the Twin Ports, Ruth House in Superior is continuing their hot meal service for lunch and dinner and is welcoming the public to their open food shelf.

“For the month of September, we will keep up our normal schedule,” said Ruth House Ministry Coordinator Christyna Foster. “That means we serve lunch every day from noon to one, supper every day from five to 5:45, and within the day we also offer free showers and people can do a free load of laundry every day.”

A lot of people came into Ruth House during the peak of the pandemic, as many other food banks and shelters were closed.

“We saw a lot of activity during the pandemic,” said Foster. “We never shut our doors during the pandemic because we were the only place open for people to go to for resources. And so we made sure our doors were open every day throughout the pandemic for those that were in need.”

In honor of National Overdose Awareness Day on Tuesday, Ruth House recently created a memorial display dedicated to those lost to suicide and drug abuse in the community.

With this memorial, they are making efforts to bring everyone closer together.

There are many ways for people to help these organizations, whether it is by donation or volunteering.