Volunteers organize items at the drive-thru food pantry in Webster County’s Hacker Valley, organized by Mountaineer Food Bank and Catholic Charities Webster Springs Office. Courtesy photo

By Colleen Rowan
Poverty is a reality for many West Virginians, especially in the most rural regions. Many communities are food deserts with nearest grocery stores more than a half hour away. In an already dire situation in these communities, the coronavirus pandemic has brought more difficulties, including an increased need for food and safe ways to provide it. In response, outreach organizations and Catholic churches are partnering to provide drive-thru food pantries.
Webster County is home to many rural communities with residents who are caught in the cycle of poverty, including Hacker Valley.  “One difference though, is that those residents don’t ‘feel’ poor, act poor, or even think of themselves as poor,” said Tina Cogar, outreach coordinator for the Catholic Charities West Virginia (CCWVa) Webster Springs Office. “They have pride in their community. Instead of complaining about everything they don’t have, they rejoice in the riches that they do have.”
COVID 19 has created an even more challenging situation for rural communities such as Webster County and other rural areas in the state, Cogar said. “In these areas, we are already limited by the fact that we only have a local IGA, Dollar General and Family Dollar within the county,” she said. “I see people commenting on Facebook regarding the shortage of paper products at Walmart and other stores and I can’t help but to laugh while thinking, try finding paper products in our three small town stores.”
Recently, Cogar’s office partnered with Mountaineer Food Bank to offer a drive-thru food pantry in Hacker Valley, one of Webster County’s most rural communities. Here, Cogar said, people often only make monthly trips to the store. And with shelves being so bare, she continued, it’s forcing people to either do without or make several trips, cutting into their budgets further for gas money.
Usually CCWVa will hold mobile food pantries or large produce giveaways in Webster Springs the county seat and where the outreach office is located. The purpose, Cogar said, is to keep it centrally located. She noted, however, that central locations easily miss many families in the vastly rural community.
“In this county, 20 miles on these country roads mean 40 minutes or more,” she said. “Many people don’t have cars and therefore rely on neighbors to make pickups for them or if there is an empty seat, ride along with them to the store.
“Large trucks have a hard time getting into these areas of the county and so for us to be able to go directly to these communities, is a very rare but also a very spiritually fulfilling reward, not only for the residents but for the volunteers and organizations as well,” she said.
Cogar said Mountaineer Food Bank has been holding mobile, drive-thru pantries throughout the state and CCWVa helped with one in Upperglade in Webster County where 250 families were served. When contacted about helping with a second one, Cogar’s office wanted to have one in the community of Hacker Valley.
“We knew we wouldn’t serve as many families as we did in Upperglade where we had to turn families away, but we also wanted to be sure to have enough,” she said. “The truck brought 200 boxes that had been packer earlier by the National Guard, the boxes contained items such as peanut butter, pasta, walnuts, canned goods.  In addition to one of these boxes, each family also received large bags of shredded cheddar cheese, grapes and chicken.”
CCWVa representatives who helped in the efforts included AmeriCorps member Jill Bonnett, volunteer Debbie Salgado, and Cogar. Local school principal Kennetha Howell and volunteer Casey Chapman were on site from the valley, two workers from Mountaineer Food Bank were there along with members of the Webster County Sheriff’s Department.
More than 40 minutes southest is Hinton, home to CCWVa’s Loaves and Fishes outreach center. CCWVa officials said that in response to the CDC guidelines, the center has also moved to offering drive-thru service.
“Clients are able to pull up in front of the building and pick up food without having to leave their vehicles or stand in line,” said CCWVa Southern Regional Director Matt Atwood.
Adjacent to the center is St. Patrick Parish, which helps with outreach efforts. Volunteers, including some members of St. Patrick’s as well as the pastor, Father Romeo Bacalso, SVD, have been assisting with the drive-thru service. In addition to this, Loaves and Fishes continues to make monthly food deliveries to Hinton House Apartments, a complex that serves the elderly and disabled.
“Loaves and Fishes Center in Hinton has a great impact in our community,” Father Bacalso said. “The food we shared/gave to the needy empowers the community … as we go through this unprecedented time of the pandemic of COVID-19 crisis.” The simple acts of giving and distributing food gives those served the experience of the real presence of God, he said.
The center receives support and volunteers from the parish as well. “We post in our parish bulletin and announce at Mass the specific food donations every month, small but heartedly given,” Father Bacalso said. “We help with packing, and distribute the food at least twice a month.”
Clients in the Southern Region are still receiving help through the emergency assistance program for things like utility terminations and eviction notices, Atwood said. “All applications are being processed over the phone, allowing for clients to receive help without needing to travel. Even though some utility companies have suspended making terminations, Catholic Charities is still able to help pay on those bills in order to keep them from becoming insurmountable.”
Those who are working to serve the state’s most in need say they are happy to do so.
“Getting out and doing these things is why I love my job!” Cogar said. “I don’t like being trapped behind my desk all day, I need to see and feel the difference we are making in our communities, and not simply just put them on paper. It is a blessing for everyone who gets to be a part of helping others. As far as COVID-19, it’s here, and so are we.”