Hunger at the Last Mile in Portage County
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Hunger at the Last Mile in Portage County
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About this listen
A day with Rural Relief Mobile Food Pantry shows what it takes to move food the final mile into rural communities—real-time shortages, handwritten intake logs, and intimate acts of neighbor-to-neighbor care.
You’ll hear from:- Jason & Rena, Rural Relief Mobile Food Pantry
- Dennis, a neighbor on fixed income
- Becky Lehman, Portage County Health Commissioner (drive-through pop-up)
- Bill Childers, United Way Portage County
In this episode:
- Loading the bus: ordering “the menu,” filling gaps in the Foodbank marketplace, tossing spoiled produce, pivoting on the fly.
- Why the bus matters: 80% first-time users; reaching people who can’t get to town pantries.
- At Atwater Park: personalized dignity (snack packs for kids, ramen for a teen), and how the food always runs out right on time.
- Real stories of our neighbors: A grandmother raising four grandkids; Dennis choosing between utilities and dinner.
- Funding in motion: United Way connects Rural Relief to stable micro-grants mid-distribution.
Credits:
Reporting/hosting by Ben & Patrick Childers. Editing/mix/master by Patrick. Fact-check by Dash Lewis. Story edit by Jenna Marson. Artwork by Migs Sunny. Original music by L.T. Headtrip.
Mentioned in this episode:
Neighbors In Need: Portage County Emergency Support Drive
Neighbors In Need
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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.