Combined Community Services is in need of food donations to be able to continue to meet the needs of the clients it serves. CCS Food Pantry provides food to families in Kosciusko County. The pantry has no peanut butter, cereal or pasta. People can drop off donations Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. The average number of families served each month is 500 at CCS. “We see an increase each year during Spring Break and the summer months when children are home. Families who are already struggling find it difficult to provide the extra lunch meal to their children,” according to Peggi Lisenbee-Wright, CCS director of emergency assistance. With some of the federal funding issues, CCS has not yet received a substantial part of their food funding, said Stephen Possell, CCS executive director. “We are looking at working harder in the community to raise awareness of our immediate need. Our shelves and freezers are depleted except for canned items,” Possell said. The annual “Stamp Out Hunger” on May 14 is always a huge benefit to the pantry and helps CCS get through the first summer months, Possell said. However, Stamp Out Hunger is 3-1/2 weeks away and CCS is still trying to serve an ever-increasing number of families every day. Stamp Out Hunger is sponsored by United Way and food is collected locally and nationally by postal departments and the food is donated locally to Salvation Army, CCS, Our Father’s House and Helping Hands, Mentone. “We live in an outstanding community that always rises to the occasion to help the most needy in our community and abroad,” Possell said. “I think that sometimes we get so caught up in helping in other areas of the world that we often do not see the need here at home. Our cupboards are getting bare. Please do what you can and do not forget the hungry in our own backyards.” For people who are in a position to be able to purchase food for the pantry, or give a monetary donation to purchase food, the address is 110 E. Prairie St., Warsaw. If people know of a family in need of assistance refer them to CCS by calling 574-269-6019.
