Logan County food pantry volunteers work through substance abuse recovery

WEST LOGAN, W.Va. (WCHS) — Members of one Logan County community are working together to provide food for those in need with a mobile food pantry.

Come rain or shine, volunteers with Hungry Lambs Food Initiative are dedicated to running their mobile food pantries. The pantry not only benefits hundreds of people in need, but the volunteers also get something good out of it.

Keisha Barker is one of a handful of volunteers from the Fresh Start program in Logan County. It's a way to help people who are recovering from substance abuse get back on their feet through community service.

"Some days, we may get somebody who wants help, and I have the resources now to where I can offer help to them," Barker said.

Hungry Lambs has been around for 30 years, but their numbers soared during the pandemic. In West Virginia, one out of seven people don't know where their next meal will come from.

"In November and December of 2020, we were serving over 350 families each time we did it," Hungry Lambs Food Initiative director Chad Akers said. "The pandemic really hurt a lot of people."

Akers said he has fewer volunteers now than he had at the height of the pandemic, but for good reason.

"The program is working, because I have lost some of my volunteers because they've all gotten jobs," Akers said. "And that's what the program is about. I'll take less volunteers if that means they're out in the workforce and getting back to what they need to be doing."

For Keisha, after three years volunteering with the pantry, she hopes to complete the Fresh Start program soon. Then, she wants to work on fulfilling her dreams of becoming a teacher.

"I'm going to finish my degree, get a career and support my family," Barker said.

The Fresh Start program is run by the Southwestern Regional Day Report Center.