It’s been 16 months since Governor Mike DeWine deployed the Ohio National Guard to help distribute food during the pandemic.
The Guard's mission with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective officially came to an end Friday.
“We couldn’t have done what we did without them,” said Mid-Ohio Food Collective CEO Matt Habash.
Habash has been working for the organization for 38 years. He could have never predicted what year 37 would bring, but he’s thankful for the National Guard’s help.
“Throughout the entire pandemic, they were the one thing we could count on. We called them the food bank force,” said Habash.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine attended the de-commissioning, farewell ceremony in the Columbus suburb Grove City.
“When you think about it, what is more important than people having food?” asked DeWine.
During their mission with Mid-Ohio, the National Guard distributed more than 105 million pounds of food across 20 counties.
“Thank you to the men and women of the National Guard for the great role they’ve played during the pandemic," said DeWine.
A total of 100 National Guard men and women have been working with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective for the last six to eight months.