Gladden Community House has helped Columbus’ Franklinton neighborhood for more than 100 years with children’s services, emergency support for families, senior outreach, and more. So, when Mardi Ciriaco, Gladden’s vice president of community services, says things there are changing fast, it’s worth taking notice.
The historically low-income area’s rapid residential and commercial growth in the last decade has raised rents quickly. And as inflation has strained household budgets in recent years, more people are turning to places like Gladden Food Pantry, a Mid-Ohio Food Collective partner agency. Others are moving to places where rent is more affordable. Many pantries feel those pressures alongside their customers, Mardi said.
“There’s a fair number of residents that have multigenerational households—grandparents, parents, and kids who’ve rented in the community for 50 or 60 years,” Mardi said. “Gladden is not displaced, but many of our families are because they cannot afford that increase in rent. To go from $850 to $1,500 a month is a huge jump. That’s what the pantry is paying now for the same space that we’ve been in for years.”
Fortunately for Franklinton and Gladden’s customers, however, relief recently came in the form of a new retail donation partnership. In January 2024, Mid-Ohio Food Collective’s Food Resource Development team connected Mardi with the Walmart Supercenter (store #2725) in Lewis Center on Columbus’ north side. The store had food donations. Gladden was happy to accept them.
MOFC’s direct retail pickup (DRP) program matches partner agencies in the food bank’s 20-county footprint with local stores, wholesale clubs, and distribution centers that have product to donate. Donations are often perishable items that are still good but coming close to their sell-by date. By donating unpurchased food to a local pantry, a store can make sure it doesn’t get thrown away. MOFC, meanwhile, can save time, fuel, and money by connecting stores directly to local pantries in need.
Last year, the Lewis Center store donated more than 80,000 pounds of food to the MOFC hunger relief network. Every donated item must be inventoried, set aside, and staged. DRP relationships and retail donations only work thanks to store employees’ commitment to fighting hunger, said MOFC Product Acquisition Representative Laurie Coleman.
“Stores like Walmart and Sam’s Club giving back means thousands of hungry people in central and eastern Ohio get fed,” Laurie said. “The managers and associates make it possible. They work with MOFC and our pantry partners to make a big impact.”
Gladden has done DRP with grocery stores before, Mardi said, but the new relationship with the Lewis Center Walmart fostered through MOFC is noteworthy in several ways.
First, there’s the significant financial benefit to Gladden and its neighbors in Franklinton. Thanks to this new partnership with the Lewis Center store, Gladden Food Pantry is able to redirect money that was previously paying for food toward the area’s other needs and pursue new ways of helping neighbors.
Second, there’s the sheer volume of donations coming into Franklinton thanks to the store and its employees. When Gladden picked up from other stores in the past, a day’s donations would fill the back of an SUV. Now, the pantry needs a pallet jack and a truck to pick up from the Lewis Center Walmart three times a week.
Finally, there’s the quality and variety of the product. Gladden Food Pantry customers have learned that a fresh selection of produce, protein, and other items comes in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The household-sized portions are perfect for nearby neighbors who walk to the pantry. Getting Walmart-brand food makes getting food assistance feel more normal, and some customers are even eager to visit to see what’s new.
“What we’re getting from Walmart is exactly what you would be buying if you shopped at Walmart today. Same quality,” Mardi said. “Food insecurity is emotionally draining for everyone. So, to have a customer come and be excited about being here and what we have to offer food-wise is a just win-win for everybody.”
Bulk retail donations like those described above are in addition to monetary donations made to food banks through Walmart’s annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign. Throughout April, donations and roundups at the register in-store and online—plus the purchase of select products from participating suppliers—mean more food and resources for people facing hunger. Want get involved right away? Give now to support hunger relief in your community!
