By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Peg Holland had a sinking feeling as she looked at the empty shelves at Brown Bag Food Project in Bowling Green last Friday. The staples had been depleted. No peanut butter or pasta. No cereal or soup. No applesauce or juice.
“People are relying on us,” she remembered thinking.
So for the first time in nine years, Peg and her daughter, Amy Holland, who manage Brown Bag, made the difficult decision to not open to the public on Monday.
This came at a time of increased food needs, with the Brown Bag feeding 311 families – a total of 1,200 people – each month.
Meanwhile, area food banks are struggling to meet needs since federal cutbacks. And while local donations continue to be strong, Peg Holland said donations don’t stretch as far anymore due to higher grocery costs.
The Trump administration, earlier this year, cut $1 billion intended to support food banks and school meal programs. That means the Brown Bag Food Project’s biweekly delivery from Toledo Northwest Foodbank is five or six pallets compared to the customary six to seven. And the three pallets counted on from SeaGate Foodbank is now closer to 1.5 pallets.
“The problem is the cuts,” Peg Holland said. “We’re just not getting the amount we need.”
The food pantry got good news on Tuesday with a delivery arriving – and a large donation from a fundraiser coordinated by Bowling Green restaurants.
Peg and Amy Holland took a break from stocking the shelves to accept the $10,000 check from revenue generated during the second annual Restaurant Week in BG.
“You don’t know how much this really helps us,” Peg Holland said as they accepted the check. “This will be put to very good use in the coming weeks.”
This year, 27 businesses participated in BG Restaurant Week, organized by Ardy Gonyer and Tim Emmerich, co-owners of Easystreet and Call of the Canyon. Some establishments offered deals on certain menu items, and all donated 10% of the profits from those sales to the Brown Bag Food Project.
The sponsor for the event was Hanneman Family Funeral Homes. “Bowling Green has put their faith and trust in us during the most difficult times in their lives for 113 years. This is a way we can give back,” Reggie Hanneman said.
Gonyer thanked the restaurants and their customers for taking part. And Emmerich noted the need for the funds raised to feed the hungry.
“They work so hard and they serve so many people,” Emmerich said of the Brown Bag Food Project. “There’s definitely a need in the community.”
The pantry will be back in business on Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
After the check presentation Tuesday evening at Beckett’s, Peg Holland and Amy Holland headed back to the food pantry to continue stocking shelves and to sort through a pallet of cucumbers and zucchini to find ones at the bottom that weren’t slimy.
Like the rest of the items at Brown Bag, located at 530 Sand Ridge Road, food must meet standards – and expiration dates. Volunteers are instructed to keep that in mind.
“If it’s not anything you would eat, it’s not good enough for our clients to eat,” Peg Holland said.
In addition to the pallets of food, the Brown Bag also received some hygiene and sanitizing items Tuesday. They take what they can get – this time it was a lot of hair conditioner, but no shampoo.
And Peg Holland pointed out they have birthday cake mixes, an important item for families. When she sees a birthday coming for families in a particular month, she makes sure to bag up a cake mix, frosting, cake pan, a can of Sprite, and the recipe that puts it all together – with a few balloons to boot.
“It’s not necessary, but it’s nice,” she said.
For more information, visit https://www.brownbagfoodproject.org/.
