Happy Thanksgiving and A Blessed Christmas!

Lake Township FISH
Est. 1972
FISH’S Food For Thought
To comfort and to bless, to find a balm for woe, to tend those lost in
loneliness, are angels’ works below.
William W How
N OVE MBER 2 0 1 3 —V O L . 5
I SSUE 6
Editor: Jan Moore-Dwenger
Recap of Sept. - Oct.
Food Orders
469
Housing - 6
$2200
What a privilege to have the opportunity to continue to share our blessings
Electric - 7
$1555
with others! The year 2013 has been filled with changes that could only have
happened as the Holy Spirit touched many lives and enabled folks to make
Gas - 4
$771
these changes. It was difficult for many of us to visualize what the pantry
would look like in the 2,000 square feet of the former Hartville Hardware that Diapers - 1
$100
was donated by the facility, GentleBrook. FISH’S Director, Kami Sommers,
F O OD PA N TR Y
was one of the people who could, and the ramifications from this move have
N E E DS:
been far-reaching.
Here are some FISH Facts that may be of interest to you.

Peanut Butter
 Pasta Sauce
1. Each food order distributed to the clients is worth over $150.
2. Due to grocery donations made by area churches, schools, and businesses, pur-  Deodorant
chasing groceries with coupons at retail stores and buying food from the AkronCanton Food Bank, the cost to FISH of each order is just over $17. This is remark-  Shampoo
able considering the large amount of groceries each client receives!
 Paper Towels
3. Over 25 kinds of fresh vegetables and fruits have been given to our clients at no
cost to FISH by getting them through the Akron-Canton Food Bank and individual
donations.
4. Over 7000 bakery items such as breads and desserts have been distributed so far this year at no cost to
FISH by getting them through the Serving Him Agape Bread Ministry in Akron and Cleveland.
5. FISH has over twenty-one categories of items from which clients can choose. The FISH “store” resembles a regular grocery with its varied and well-balanced selection of food as well as toiletries, cleaning and
paper products. The amount each client receives is determined by the size of their families.
6. Each client may receive groceries every two weeks.
7. Eligibility to receive groceries is based on Federal and State regulations of income and family size. The
financial eligibility chart from the Ohio Dept. of Family Services information and a lot more can be found
on the Lake Township FISH website at www.laketownshipfish.org.
8. In the 9 months since Lake Township FISH has moved from Maple Grove, 1645 food orders have been
distributed and financial assistance has been given to 67 clients at a cost of just under $16,000 for that
time period.
9. FISH has a “Client Give Back Program.” For every ten Box Tops For Education” and/or Campbell labels
they bring to the pantry, they receive an extra item off the shelves. These labels are then donated to the
local schools to redeem to the manufacturers. The schools buy playground equipment and other supplies
with the money.
Sponsored By: Andy & Jill Pressler, Forever Lawn, Hartville Hardware, Hartville Kitchen, Hartville Marketplace,
Ramsburg Insurance, Tom & Jan Dwenger, Countryside Plumbing, D.R. Miller Design Build, Dutcher Door, Hartville
Health and Wellness, Uniontown Lions, Yoder-Bontrager Insurance, Consumers National Bank, Family Eyecare Center, MJ Miller and Co., and Senior Sitters L.L.C.—Thank you to all these sponsors for their support.
Lake Township FISH
PO Box 611
Hartville, OH 44632
330-877-1845
Kami Sommers
[email protected]
Faithfully
I
Serve
Him
How You Can Help
1. FISH gives out children’s and adults’
books and magazines to the clients. If
you have some that you no longer want,
add them to the products you donate in
the brown bag drives or give them to your
church’s representative or take them to
the pantry when it is open 10 AM to 11
AM on Tuesdays and 6PM to 7PM in
Thursdays.
2. You can designate your United Way
donations to go to Lake Township FISH.
If you have any questions contact Andy
Pressler, 330.877.3913.
3. We collect grocery coupons of all
kinds with which to purchase groceries at
retail stores. Please save coupons for
FISH.
4. The Agape Bread Ministry needs help
in delivering the bakery products from the
distribution site in Green Township to the
warehouse on Sunnyside Street across
from FISH. If you have a vehicle that can
pull a small trailer and are interested in
being a volunteer for this important service, please call Harold and Shirley Goad
at 330.877.6277
5. Continue to donate groceries and/or
money to FISH through your church or by
sending it the Lake Township FISH, PO
Box 611, Hartville, OH, 44632.
Community Involvement
The Annual 5K Walk/Run held July 20th in conjunction with Lake Local Schools netted
$5257.
Proceeds from the Annual Benefit Dinner held at the Hartville Kitchen were close to
$6000.
Romeo’s Pizza is conducting a holiday food drive for FISH from November 18 to December 30th. If you take a can of food to Romeo’s during this time period, you will
receive $1 off your pizza order.
Lake Community Credit Union is also collecting groceries including paper and cleaning products, toiletries and
food to help fill the pantry shelves for the clients.
Lake Township FISH participates in Acme’s Community Cash Back program. If you have some Acme receipts
and want to donate them to FISH, please give them to your church’s FISH representative to take to the pantry.
We will earn a 5% return on Acme Fresh Market, Food Club, Top Care, Full Circle, Valu Time, Paws, World Classics, Academix, Dometix and Electrix purchased at this grocery. This is an easy way to earn cash for FISH.
Pizza Hut donates pizzas and pasta every week.
We are grateful to all the donors and businesses for their assistance to FISH.
1st, put a non-perishable product in
the box each day of Advent until
Christmas. As you do this, pray for
the person who will receive groceries from the pantry. (At your convenience, either call Jan and Tom
1. Plan a family activity of making Dwenger at 330.877.9996 to ara collection box for FISH and berange a pickup of the box or take it
ginning the first day of Advent, Dec to the pantry at the times it is open.)
Holiday Sharing
This Christmas season make the
holiday time be more meaningful by
sharing to Lake Township FISH.
Here are some ideas:
2. Donate a new child’s book to the
FISH pantry to be distributed to the
clients.
3. Create a “bank” from a large
cup. Each evening of Advent empty
your pockets of change and put it in
this Caring Cup. On Christmas,
donate the money to FISH. Remember all donations are tax deductible!
2014
Yes, this year has been quite an awesome “ride.” The generosity of the donors, the fantastic and faithful
work of all the volunteers, the miracle of the development of the FISH facility, and the bounty of groceries we give to the clients have been beyond our expectations. As we move on to 2014, we expect to
continue to grow. We ask for your prayers and service to this organization as we move forward and
through the New Year. There will be changes; however, God is always good all the time, and the mission of this organization remains the same as it has always been:
Living Christ’s love by serving our neighbors.
Happy Thanksgiving and A Blessed Christmas!