Building security: The important role of local food banks

When browsing your neighborhood food pantry, it can sometimes be hard to visualize a meal with the ingredients that surround you.

Area food banks are known to offer pantry staples like pasta, beans, and cans of tuna.

What’s less known is the availability of items like local meat, seasonal produce, and dairy products.

“A lot more pantries are moving to a client-choice system,” explained Lauren Bacans-Grounds, executive director of the Islamic Food Bank of Toledo. “We specifically budget for fresh meat and fresh produce and fresh dairy. That is something that throughout the history of the organization, back to 2008, we were always insisting that people get fresh or frozen meat.”