DAYTON, Ohio — Hundreds upon hundreds of cars lined the parking lot of the Wright State Nutter Center Tuesday morning, as families waited to pick up their free food —one of which was Dayton native and disabled Army veteran Honour Horne-Jaruk.

• Close to 50 volunteers and 30 Army guards distributed over three semi truckloads of fresh produce and other food items to families who stopped by
• 1,600 people were served at the foodbank's mass distribution 
• They typically host only three large food distributions annually, but this year they have already had two for those struggling during the pandemic

For the past couple of weeks she has been struggling to make ends meet. She went from selling homemade clothing, to not making any money at all.

“There’s nothing left for anything else,” said Horne-Jaruk. “If we get another cold snap we won’t have heat.”

She says she’s grateful for the donation because right now she has a limited amount of income.

“We’d be starving if it weren’t for these food banks,” she said. “I’m not talking about we wouldn’t have good food to eat, I’m talking starving.”

And Horne-Jaruk isn’t the only one struggling. She was one of close to 1,600 other people who were served at The Foodbank, Inc. mass distribution at Wright State University. 

Close to 50 volunteers and 30 Army guards distributed over three semi truckloads of fresh produce and other food items to families who stopped by. There were so many cars at one point, the line was at a standstill. 

One Ohio National Guard says it brings him joy to know he is able to make such a huge impact.  

“This is why most of us join the National Guard, which is to assist and give back to our community,” said Andrew Lynch, an Ohio National Guard.

The Foodbank, Inc. Chief Development Officer Lee Lauren Truesdale says the goal of this distribution is to help assist those who are struggling right now. 

They typically host only three large food distributions annually, but this year they have already had two for those struggling during the pandemic. 

“We’ve seen about twice of what we normally see and usually anywhere between 40 and 55/65 percent of those people are new,” said Truesdale.

It is uncertain when there will be another large distribution like this, but people still have other options.

“We’re not sure what’s next. We do have an onsite drive-thru at our location in West Dayton that is open twice a week right now for anybody that is in need,” she said.