HAMILTON — There's a message of hope inside every bag of groceries distributed by Open Door Pantry to its Hamilton neighbors in need.

        “People assume that nobody cares about them, but they do,” said Bobbie Chapman, the organization's director.

        Mrs. Chapman and a group of volunteers stayed busy the past week assembling bags of nonperishable food items. On one table were “motley” bags available to help families through a crisis. On a cart nearby, ingredients for Thanksgiving meals went into another set of bags.

        Demand for food assistance has grown, she said, and not just because fewer people are receiving welfare benefits.

        “There are also those who are working those temporary jobs, day by day, but if they don't have a job for three or four days, they have to come in here,” Mrs. Chapman said. “Our Spanish-speaking population also has increased. By them not speaking English, it's hard for them to get a consistent job.”

        For direct-service organizations such as Open Door Pantry, finding adequate resources is a challenge. Much of the work is done by volunteers. Half the food is purchased from food banks and other sources, and half donated by local churches and community organizations.

        And then there are operating expenses.

        “Our utility bill is $10,000 a year because of all the freezers we have,” said Howard Green, Open Door Pantry's treasurer.

        For the past nine years, Hamilton musicians have given a concert in early November to benefit Open Door Pantry. The proceeds have been extremely helpful, Mrs. Chapman said, but provide only about a quarter of needed funds.

        Holiday times are espe cially stressful for food pantries, said Tina Osso, director of Shared Harvest, the Fairfield-based food bank that serves 30 Ohio counties.

        “They provide Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets on top of their normal food distribution,” she said. “They need not only more food, but more volunteers to handle that added burden.”

        Ms. Osso said Shared Harvest's food distribution is up 10 percent over last year. The 300 charities it serves report increases in distribution from 10 percent to 25 percent.

        “It keeps us struggling, but God always provides,” Mrs. Chapman said. “Last year at this time I ran out of turkeys. I didn't know what I was going to do. Then someone came to the back door with turkeys and said he was told I needed them.”
       head MORE INFORMATION

        Contact Open Door Pantry at 868-3276 or Shared Harvest at 874-0114 for information about similar organizations in other communities.

        In Hamilton there will be a free Thanksgiving dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day at the Fenmont Center, 229 N. Third St. It is sponsored by St. Julie Billiart Roman Catholic Church, New Life Baptist Mission and the Princeton Pike Church of God. Diners and volunteers are welcome. For details, call Shared Harvest.

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