United Way of Lake County, Giant Eagle Gives a Helping Ham

The and gave 520 Easter hams to local food banks this morning as part of United Way's program.

The hams went to 47 churches and community food banks, including six in Mentor.

The hams cost approximately $6,000, a third of which came from Willoughby Municipal Court’s HelpingHands Program, which is a program that allows court defendants to purchase Giant Eagle gift cards in lieu of doing community service. The remainder came from money that was donated to United Way of Lake County throughout the year and during the Feed Lake County campaign.

Thus far, the United Way of Lake County has received a total of 13,500 pounds of food and $24,500 in donations during its annual food drive, said United Way employee Nick Carrabine.

The drive's finale will be a food parade from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 26 by the  at 9248 Mentor Ave. People can still donate food or money at the parade, Carrabine said.

The United Way is also looking for volunteers who will help sort the donations from April 28 to April 30.

United Way employee Kristin Kozar that donations are as needed as they have ever been.

More than 6,000 people used the food pantries in Lake County and between 700 and 1,100 people needed help on a weekly basis. County food pantries reported to the United Way that they see 10 to 20 new visitors each week.

The most-requested items are soups, canned fruits and vegetables, tuna fish and other canned meats, macaroni and cheese and other boxed meals, beef stew or other ready meals, peanut butter and jelly, pasta and sauce, cereals and breakfast foods, toilet tissue and other personal care items.

If you are interested in donating food or money to Feed Lake County, contact Hope Swank at 440-639-1153 or through email at hswank@uwlc.org.