Tag Archives: social services

2017 food distribution and kick-off set

The 2017 United Food Operation (UFO) food distribution program will kickoff on Friday, January 13 at 11:00 A.M. and run through April 1, announced Elaine Harris, chairperson of the group.

Volunteers from St. Albans Food Pantry
Volunteers from the St. Albans Food Pantry are among the many who donate their time to United Food Operation. Donations are needed to help feed the needy this winter.

The 12 UFO participating food pantries are all experiencing increased needs this season, so the organization expects to use all the help it can get this year.

“I am asking everyone to come to the United Food Operation warehouse for the kickoff program on Jan. 13 at 11:00 A.M. and bring monetary and food contributions,” said Harris. “Also, reach out to other companies and organizations and invite them to drop by with a contribution.”

Since 1982, UFO raises funds around the year and uses them each winter to purchase bulk foods needed by community food pantries around Kanawha and Putnam counties. Food is distributed to the pantries on Saturdays for 12 weeks each winter.

Pictured L to R are Joe Davenport, Clifford Means, and Andy Altman.
Volunteers from local industry ensure that United Food Operation gets the food to the pantries.

To support feeding needy people in our community, area businesses can collect funds or food during the winter season and UFO will take care of getting food to the community food pantries. UFO charges no overhead on monetary contributions. All the funds go to support food distributions in the Kanawha Valley area.

ICL Group donates to United Food Operation
UFO Chairperson Elaine Harris accepts a donation from ICL Group, ( formerly known as Clearon) represented by John Kadlec, Director of Operations, South Charleston plant.

United Food Operation is an all-volunteer group that operates as a 501c(3) charitable organization. No salaries are paid and the group runs with donated labor and equipment out of donated warehouse space at the Institute Industrial Park. Dow Chemical Company maintains the warehouse facility on behalf of the group. Founded in 1981, the group conducted its first winter season food distribution program in 1982. This winter will be the 36th annual food distribution.

Organization meeting set

United Food Operation, Inc. will hold the organizational meeting for its 2016 campaign on Thursday, December 10. The meeting will be hosted by Dow Chemical Company at its Institute, WV facility.

At the meeting, the dates for the 2106 Winter Food Distribution Program will be announced. UFO will also disclose the new location of its food distribution center.

The group had to move from its former space following the repurposing of the building in which it was located after Bayer CropScience sold the property earlier this year. The UFO board expressed their gratitude to Bayer for its generous support over the past decade. UFO is thankful to have had the use of the BayerCropScience warehouse space for those many years.

As part of the meeting agenda, representatives of the participating food pantries will help UFO leaders assess the current need for food in the region. UFO anticipates a strong demand for food this winter given the region’s weak economy and high unemployment. Plans for fundraising will also be discussed.

For additional information on the meeting, please call 304-342-2023.

United Food Operation readies for 2014 food distribution season

Winter weather has hit the Kanawha Valley with a vengeance, which means it surely must be time again for United Food Operation (UFO) to get down to business. Accordingly, the Charleston-based all-volunteer organization will kick off its 32nd annual food distribution program on January 24 and run it through April 12 this year.

Elaine Harris, who has served as the program chair since its inception in 1981, said UFO will work out of the same distribution center at the Bayer Crop Science facility in Institute that it has been using for several years.

Harris, in a Charleston Daily Mail interview, said times are especially tough this year.

“Donations are down,” she said. “Cupboards are bare. We need sponsors to help bring in food. It’s tax-deductible.”

Numerous area employers support the program but more are needed, Harris said. She explained that, unlike many other food banks, UFO does not charge the pantries for the food it provides them.

“They have enough issues finding the resources to keep operating,” she said. “We just want to help them get over the winter hump.”

Pantry leaders say they are hard pressed in the cold weather season to keep up with the increased demand for their services. Demand is higher in winter months for a number of reasons but the primary one is higher utility bills for heating leave less in the famlly budget for food.

At the Institute distribution center,  UFO volunteers will collect, receive, and sort food on Fridays and distribute it to pantries on Saturday mornings during the 10-week period. Thirteen food pantries in Putnam and Kanawha counties participate in the UFO program.

Participating food pantries for 2014 are:
Christian Community Cupboard in Hurricane; EnAct, Inc. in Chesapeake, Montgomery, and Clendenin; Covenant House of Charleston; Heart and Hand Community Service Center in South Charleston; Nitro Community Services; Pocatalico/Sissonville Community Food Pantry; St. Albans Community Food Pantry; Mountain Mission in Charleston; Salvation Army in Charleston; and Five Loaves/Two Fishes in Poca.

A teleconference call with UFO officers and volunteer leaders will be held Wednesday, January 15, 2014 8:00 AM to discuss plans for the UFO kick off and subsequent pantry distributions for this year.

For more information about how you might help or get involved as a volunteer, call Elaine Harris at 304-342-2023.

More people seeking help, charities report

(The following item appeared in the Charleston Gazette in Oct. 2011.)

West Virginia charity groups are reporting an increase in the number of people seeking assistance.

In the first nine months of this year there was a 6 percent increase in the number of West Virginians who called th statewide 211 hot line.

Local news sources report that the callers are seeking help with food, shelter and utilities. The hot line fields 1,500 to 2,000 calls a month.

If the upward trend continues, about 11,000 more people will have sought help with basic needs in 2011 than 2010.

The United Way of Central West Virginia reports that it has undergone a 146 percent increase in the number of calls it has received in the first nine months of the year.

More people seeking food pantry help
More people are expected to seek help from our food pantries this winter.