Midwest City Rotary continues support for food pantry
Adam Bush, Midwest City Rotary Club president, presents a $3,000 donation to Mike Anderson and Julie Waddle of the Mid-Del Food Pantry. (Photo by Jeff Harrison)
Civic group donates additional $3k to help Mid-Del Food Pantry
By Jeff Harrison
Managing Editor
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Midwest City Rotary Club recently donated $3,000 to the Mid-Del Food Pantry to help families in need.
On May 29, Adam Bush, Rotary president, delivered the check to Mike Anderson, director of the pantry, and Julie Waddle, chair of the Mid-Del Food Pantry Board.
“We chose the Food Pantry because it seemed to be the biggest need at the time and best way to help with COVID-19,” Bush said.
It is the second donation from the Rotary Club since the pandemic. The group donated $3,000 in April. They have also donated hand sanitizer to AllianceHealth Midwest and Midwest City police and firefighters, and provided meals to first responders, Bush said.
The Mid-Del Food Pantry, like many organizations, has been hit by COVID-19. The non-profit has seen a sharp decline in donations from local grocery stores since March. Anderson said they used to receive about 1,500 pounds of food from three local stores weekly, but that has dropped significantly. Those donations include produce, meat and canned goods.
“The grocery stores are still down on their donations and they’re under high scrutiny from management,” he said.
Anderson said they have not seen an increase in the number of clients at the food pantry. He said people are still concerned about leaving home. The staff has taken extra precautions by loading food into a cart and pushing it out to the cars. The carts are sanitized after every use.
“About every other call we get is someone asking if we can bring the food out to the car,” he said. “We have our procedures down to where it’s as safe as we can get it.”
Anderson said the pantry is still in need of non-perishable food donations and financial support. All donations directly help needy families in eastern Oklahoma County.
The Midwest City Rotary Club often supports community organizations in addition to regular projects such as donating tennis shoes and dictionaries to children. The majority of their funds come through a Mexican breakfast and shrimp boil fundraisers.
The food pantry has changed its hours due to the virus. It is now open from 10 a.m. until noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
It is located at 322 N. Midwest Blvd., behind Midwest Boulevard Church of Christ. For more information, call (405) 732-3603.
