Photo By Staff Sgt. Justin Andras | Indiana National Guard troops from the 381st Military Police Company, Plymouth,...... read more read more
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MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – Indiana National Guard troops from the 381st Military Police Company, Plymouth, Indiana were activated to assist the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana beginning March 30, 2020. The humanitarian mission supported local Hoosier communities with increased emergency assistance operations in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“The assistance of the Indiana National Guard is so critical for us because they are adept and willing to move on the fly,” said Victor Garcia, executive director of the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. “It is immensely helpful as the leader of an organization where we have to deploy resources and shift gears at a moment’s notice, and the Guard is used to that.”
During a weekly call in Indiana’s new food assistance program, Operation Food, the facility identified a need to limit civilian volunteer support to protect the safety and health of its members while still maintaining an adequate workforce during a critical time of need. Governor Eric J. Holcomb activated Indiana citizen-soldiers to assist the facility in its primary mission, “to feed people today, and end hunger tomorrow by inspiring and collaborating with our community.”
“To mobilize the Guard as quickly as they have has been tremendous,” said Garcia, the facility's director since 2019. “Our initial request for support was about a week ago, and it happened quickly.”
From the moment they arrived, guardsmen and women worked with Garcia to identify needs after the facility shifted strictly to a drive-thru service model. The model confirmed compliance with the orders set forth by Governor Holcomb to guarantee social distancing requirements while still maintaining its services to Northwest Indiana communities.
“This group has been great to work with and has interacted well with my group here,” said Garcia. “You point them in a direction, and they just get it done. They’ve accomplished so much work in a week when we thought it was going to take two weeks to complete.”
Soldiers continued to work alongside facility staff members to fill critical volunteer roles in the distribution of meals to the region’s families in need. Together, they packed a total of 44,780 pounds of food equating to 2,069 boxes of food for local families as of April 4, 2020.
“When the Guard gets activated, it’s important to show that we are here for the community,” said Sgt. Joshua Sunderman, squad leader of the 12-man group from the 381st Military Police Company. “This is giving so much help and hope to people who would otherwise be without food right now.”
The food bank’s core business is to source food for 113 partner agencies comprised of local food pantries and kitchens. Since health concerns have limited the distribution abilities of some of the agencies and volunteers, some of the needs have been temporarily filled by the food bank itself with the assistance of the Guard and Governor’s office.
“I can’t stress enough how critical a partnership this has been and how much this means to the community,” said Garcia who speaks a message of hope to Northwest Indiana. “I don’t care who you are, we will be here for you and with the Indiana National Guard we are able to be there now more than ever before.”
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2020 08:20 |
| Story ID: | 366809 |
| Location: | MERRILLVILLE, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 285 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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