By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Staples at many local food pantries are foreign to some residents of Bowling Green, who are accustomed to making food from scratch in their home countries. The canned and boxed foods are far from the foods they long for from their homes.
“They aren’t used to the American foods,” explained Mojabeng Kamala, coordinator of Welcome BG. “It’s not like they are snobbish. They just don’t know what to do with it.”
So for two years, the Welcome BG organization has been working to bring familiar foods to Bowling Green residents far from their native lands. The pantry focuses primarily on food insecurity, exacerbated by the pandemic, and supplies basic food items that meet dietary, cultural and religious preferences.
The needs have doubled since the international food pantry first opened, Kamala said.
The food pantry started out serving about 20 international students and residents of Bowling Green each month. Now as many as 43 people come in search of foods they are accustomed to eating.
“I see the numbers going up,” Kamala said.
The food items are not expensive – but some are hard to come by. Many international residents from South America, Africa, India and Japan are accustomed to cooking with fresh, not canned foods, she explained.
“Most of them cook from scratch. We just need to find out what they need,” Kamala said.
Many of the international students and residents rely on the staple of cornmeal and oatmeal.
The international food pantry also provides Kamala with an opportunity to check in on international residents in Bowling Green.
“Beyond the food, what else are you having problems with,” she often asks those picking up food. “I don’t have to have every answer,” but she can point people in the right directions.
The program also gives some international residents the opportunity to practice cultural traditions. When Kamala’s family recently suffered a loss, several international residents showed up on the family’s porch to sing and offer sympathies.
Some international residents have difficulty asking for help with food, Kamala said.
“They feel shame in coming forward and saying they need help,” she said.
So when they do ask, it’s important that they be given foods they know how to prepare.
Through the “International Friday” program, people can pick up international foods on the third Friday of every month, from 6-7:30 p.m., at 130 S. Main St., Bowling Green.
Following is a list of the food items that will be accepted, or purchased through donations:
- Oatmeal, rice, flour, sugar, milk, eggs, buttermilk, bread.
- Fresh fruits, plantains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and vegetables like cabbage, okra, collard greens, carrots, green peppers, onions, spinach, kale and green onions.
- Nuts, pinto beans, lentils, soybeans.
- Canned tomato paste, cooking oil, meat (no pork).
- Corn meal (white: BRANDS-Bunge or Indian Head), gari, semo, fufu powder, and sorghum. These items are available at international markets and the Asian food market in Toledo.
Getting the food home can be a challenge for several of the international residents, many who don’t have vehicles, Kamala said.
The Welcome BG food pantry has received help from several community partners.
The Bowling Green Community Foundation provided a $2,000 grant for the International Friday program to increase awareness about challenges faced by international students in BG. Donations from the BG Police Division Command Officers’ Association, plus J&A Building Ventures, paid for a freezer for Welcome BG.
Though the Welcome BG office has changed locations, landlord Bob Maurer has offered to allow the pantry to keep operating out of 130 S. Main St., Bowling Green.
Panera continues to donate bread, and fresh produce is often offered by local residents.
Bowling Green food pantries try to identify the items found at international markets and order them when placing their orders at the Seagate Food Bank – but they are not always available, Kamala said.
That’s where the cash donations can help to purchase items that local food pantries don’t carry, she said.
Keeping the Welcome BG pantry in operation is a concern for Kamala, since grants are limited.
“We have to find a way to sustain the program,” she said.
Donations may be made to Welcome BG, 217 S. Church St., Bowling Green, OH 43402. Anyone with questions may call 567-413-4003 or email welcomebgoh@gmail.com.
