MENTOR – Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) joined Laketran to serve seniors in need, transforming their Mentor Park-n-Ride lot into a food distribution site. Partnering with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Lake County Board of Commissioners, Lifeline, Council on Aging, Lake Humane Society, and RSVP of Lake County, Laketran has provided fresh produce and dairy products to over 1,500 seniors since May.

 

“I was honored to help Laketran distribute groceries to hundreds of seniors in our community today,” said Joyce. “Older adults have been severely impacted by this pandemic, with eight out of ten coronavirus-related deaths having been individuals 65 and older. With so many seniors still unable to go to the grocery store without fear of risking their health and wellbeing, it’s on all of us to step up and do our part to protect them. I applaud not only Laketran for their work, but also the Lake County Commissioners, the Greater Cleveland Area Food Bank and other local agencies involved, as well as the Northeast Ohio companies who supplied the fresh produce and dairy products: the Sanson Company and Miceli Dairy Products Company. During these difficult times, it’s uplifting to see such a collective effort to meet this need in our community.”

 

These distributions are made possible by the Farmers to Families Food Box program, a program created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture using funding provided by a bill Joyce voted for on March 14, 2020: the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. On June 4, 2020, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the program had distributed more than five million food boxes to families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and that he expects up to 40 million boxes will be delivered throughout the country by June 30th.

 

“It was great to see the real-life, local impact the Farmers to Families Food Box program has had in Northeast Ohio,” said Joyce. “It’s helped our small and regional distributors bring back their workforce to get food directly from our farmers and ranchers to those in need, which has in turn supported over-burdened food banks, community organizations, and other non-profits during the pandemic.”

 

In March, Joyce joined members of the Ohio National Guard at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to help them package and distribute food to those in need in OH-14 communities. Learn more about his efforts here.

 

 

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