Christians in Action serves community with dignity and grace: Olmsted Dates and Data
Updated: Jul. 22, 2024, 2:01 p.m. |Published: Jul. 22, 2024, 1:09 p.m.
By Amanda Karpus, special to cleveland.com
OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio — The average median household income in the 44138 is $92,416 per year.
But did you know that in 2024, for some families that still puts them below 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold?
In our community, over 5 percent of our residents live below the poverty line and another 11 percent live below that 200 percent mark.
These folks are our neighbors, colleagues, children’s classmates and friends. Simply put, they are one of us.
Christians in Action, or CIA as you’ll commonly see them referred to, is a local resource for those within the Falls and Township
Comprised of a seven-member board, this group serves our residents in unprecedented ways.
From a food pantry with a full grocery store experience, delivery service to homebound residents and utility shutoff assistance, to their well-known “Adopt-a-Family” program during the holidays, they find ways to connect our community through these amazing programs with dignity and grace.
CIA was originally formed under the St. Mary of the Falls Catholic Church umbrella. The parish still serves as CIA’s fiscal agent, and under the CIA bylaws, the treasurer must be a St. Mary of the Falls parishioner.
Currently serving in that role is Bill Ruffing. The other six CIA board members are Karen Ruffing, Peg and Jim Schmucki, Scott Pritchard, Tim Funk and Sandy Hruza.
This past weekend, the board members hosted a drive-thru donation drive to restock the food pantry shelves for the coming months.
The pantry is located inside Olmsted Falls City Hall. This wasn’t their first or even second home, but it is theirs for at least the next decade, thanks to a 15-year city lease with an annual rent of just $1.
Christians in Action board members work the drive-thru donation line to stock the food pantry shelves.Amanda Karpus
With all the fanfare of a tailgate — motorhome and all — this well-executed drive was poised to handle mass donations.
Outside City Hall, the setup made drop-off easy, with cars pulling into the parking lot on the west side of the building.
Volunteers unloaded donation hauls, then repeated the process for the next three hours.
The donations then made their way inside to be inspected for intact seals and expiration dates, then processed to the storeroom, where they will be used to replenish the shelves as the year continues.
Christians in Action serves 130 households inside our community, totaling just under 300 people. Over 70 households use the pantry consistently.
And while visits are limited to once a month, CIA will never turn away someone if their food supply runs light before the next month.
On the first Tuesday of the month, 16 volunteers break out into teams and deliver groceries to 19 homebound families.
Thirty-one precent of those served by CIA are senior citizens, 26 percent are kids younger than 18 and 43 percent are 19 to 64 years old — smack dab in the middle of their lives.
Many of those receiving assistance are working, but can’t break that poverty barrier just yet.
the Christians in Action Food Pantry carts are ready for delivery to homebound residents.Amanda Karpus
Homebound families fill out a shopping list and volunteers “shop the pantry” to fulfill those orders.
Able-bodied families are welcomed to the pantry with the same dignity they would receive arriving at a traditional grocery store.
With the shelves stocked from top to bottom, members take their shopping carts and browse the sections, taking the allocated number of items (based on family size) per section.
In speaking with the treasurer, he shared that the model was largely based on a statistic that those receiving food from a pantry where everyone gets the same items resulted in an average 40 percent waste, due to allergies, dietary restrictions, etc.
The CIA setup allows families to take what they need. They are also given the dignity to make choices about what they prepare for themselves and their families.
The City of Olmsted Falls and St. Mary of the Falls aren’t the only ones partnering with CIA on their mission. Shaker’s IGA Marketplace is a crucial partner in their efforts.
And a true partnership at that. Come Thanksgiving, families receive everything needed for their Thanksgiving dinner, along with a Shaker’s IGA gift card.
Another crucial partner is Olmsted Township, where the “Adopt-a-Family” tree can be found come the holidays. Tags adorn the tree with “wishes” from families around the community.
The list doesn’t stop there, though. The following partners are part of the CIA mission 365 days a year, and their members are all part of the continued ability to provide for our community: Kid’s First Learning Center, Olmsted Falls Bible Church, Olmsted Community Center, St. Innocent Orthodox Church, Southwest General Health Center, The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints, Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township police departments, Olmsted Community Church, Olmsted Falls High School, Grace Church, Polaris and, last but not least, Giant Eagle Market District in Strongsville.
This GE location donates its overstock bread and bakery every Monday to the CIA pantry.
Statistically, more of you reading the column this week are in a position in life where you do not need the services Christians in Action provide.
Some of you would love to help, but are struggling right now to make ends meet and feed your own families.
And some of us, well, maybe we do need a little help right now.
Wherever you are, there is a way to connect with the mission at hand and take on food insecurity right here in our own back yard.
If you’re able to contribute to their efforts, consider making a financial donation or making a shopping trip just for the intent of helping stock the shelves.
Only have a few dollars to spare this week? Consider grabbing an extra box of cereal or jar of peanut butter to drop off.
Maybe you are looking at your own shelves and think you have too much overstock from last month’s trip to your favorite wholesaler — let me donate some of this to the pantry.
Or maybe this column found you and you’ve been struggling to feed yourself or your family, but you’ve been embarrassed by the notion of asking for help or receiving assistance.
Don’t be.
Times are tough right now, and our lives rarely go as planned. Sometimes our stories shift underneath us, and we just need that boost to make it to the next chapter.
There is no shame in allowing your community to give you that boost.
To learn more about Christians in Action’s mission, pantry hours and donation information, please visit www.ofcia.org.