Feeding the hungry in the Hamersville community

Providing assistance for those in need in the Hamersville community, that was the main goal for Teresa Gall when starting the Hamersville Community Action Team in June of 2022.

If a need is recognized, HCAT takes action to provide assistance whenever possible.

“I had in mind to help the village of Hamersville with whatever needs they had,” said Gall, volunteer president of HCAT.

Among the first needs Gall wanted to address was hunger in the village.

“I knew food was a problem,” said Gall.

Hamersville has several residents who suffer from disabilities and cannot travel out of town to receive food from pantries in Brown and surrounding counties. The rise in the cost of groceries in recent years has also left many working families struggling to purchase groceries after paying monthly bills. So, Gall wanted to establish a food handout that could regularly provide residents in need with free groceries.

“I started to make phone calls to all the organizations I knew that gave out free food,” Gall explained.

Gall was able to connect with a free food store in Cincinnati that told her to get in touch with IPM, the Interparish Mobile Food Pantry.

“It took numerous meetings, paperwork, and phone calls to get food brought to Hamersville,” said Gall.

After working with IPM to get a mobile food pantry set up for Hamersville, Gall then needed a location in the village to hold the food handout.

Hamersville Church of Christ Pastor David Hennig, now an HCAT member, was gracious enough to offer his church as the location for the mobile food pantry.

IPM came to the village to hold a food handout three times last year, and so far there have been three held this year. Each time, around 200 families show up to receive free food items that include milk, meats, and produce. Sometimes free toiletries and other non-food necessities are provided.

HCAT’s eight volunteer members, as well as other volunteers, show up to assist with the handout, dedicated to meeting the needs of residents in the community.

“We need town volunteers at each event. Thankfully, they have come through for us,” said Gall.

Also providing a great deal of assistance to HCAT and its mission are local pastors Mike Starkey, Rob Farber, and Bill Godby; as well as Hamersville Mayor Wayne Hill, who has worked with HCAT on many events.

Flyers are distributed throughout the village, posts are made on social media, and notifications are given to local newspapers to notify the public when the mobile food pantry will be visiting Hamersville.

IPM and HCAT have their next free food handout set for Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. until all of the food is gone. The handout will once again take place at the Church of Christ, located at 203 Main Street in Hamersville.

“The Church of Christ has been instrumental in helping HCAT succeed,” said Gall.

The only requirement to receive free food is to fill out a form. The majority of the food distributed comes from the free store, but donations of food are also accepted.

“We don’t turn anyone away,” said Gall.

For more information on the HCAT/IPM Mobile Food Pantry, call (513) 561-3932.