As KC Sweitzer walked up to Wednesday’s food distribution event at the Freedom BLOC headquarters in West Akron, volunteers called out her name.
“I come in and people are like ‘Hey KC!’ It feels more like a community and a family than it does at other places,” Sweitzer said. “It’s not giving a handout, it’s helping each other out — a hand up. That social support is so huge.”
Sweitzer regularly shows up to food distribution events like this — Wednesday’s was part of the Juneteenth holiday event lineup this week — where fresh vegetables, fruits and non-perishable food items are given away.
“People Feeding People is bringing people together,” Sweitzer said about one of the sponsors. “It doesn’t matter if you’re old, you’re young, you’re little — everybody is helping. They just helped me carry my groceries!”
Stay up to date: Read our recent coverage on where to find Juneteenth events in the Akron area.
The event was organized through a partnership between the Freedom BLOC, a nonprofit organization centered around civic engagement and political action, and People Feeding People, a nonprofit that provides food and hygiene products.
“We have a lot of new volunteers today who are coming out to engage with the Juneteenth event and want to know how we are a part of it,” said Kareemah Jackson, a member of People Feeding People. “Just having the momentum of the people here is our opportunity.”
As attendees lined up to receive food, they chatted with each other and with the volunteers working to distribute the food. For Sweitzer, that’s what makes events like these so special.
“There’s an African proverb that says, ‘It takes a village.’ I feel like that still resonates for our society and for our community,” she said. “Being a part of traditions, being a part of that sense of family, that’s a huge dynamic to support each other.”
People Feeding People has helped attendees like Sweitzer move past life’s difficulties and has remained present in their lives.
“People Feeding People has been an astronomical benefit to my family,” Sweitzer said. I have twins and I have a little girl … I needed to provide for my kids.”
The distribution events usually occur biweekly and feed an average of 80 to 100 families, depending on the season. Organizers like Jackson help decide what products are chosen.
“My drive for this is just seeing the people come — having the music playing just like they’re grocery shopping, not like at a normal food pantry, getting stuff that might be going old the next day,” Jackson said. “We try to be intentional about what we grab, what we order and what the community is really in need of.”
That care is present partly because organizers and volunteers like Phyllis DeHart, who has volunteered for Freedom BLOC for more than three years, are serving their own community and people they know.
“Whenever I do have time and wherever [People Feeding People] is at, I try to volunteer,” DeHart said. “Too many people, even ones I know, are making a choice between paying their rent and getting something to eat, and children are suffering. … It’s a very humbling experience to volunteer, knowing that you’re helping somebody else.”
For Imokhai Okolo, who is a co-founder of People Feeding People and an organizer with Freedom BLOC, the event was important to include in Juneteenth celebrations because of how central it is to the goal of community unity.
“Our contribution to other Juneteenth events is our regular distribution,” Okolo said. “This is what community care looks like; this is what mutual aid looks like; this is what it looks like to build different solidarity economies for our community. And so we thought it was important to include that in our Juneteenth celebrations.”
People Feeding People has big plans for the future, Okolo said. The organization is working on building a community farm in West Akron and developing a food distribution and processing center. It plans to eventually offer a free grocery store for the Akron community.
“We just had our groundbreaking for the farm last Sunday during our anniversary,” Okolo said. “We’re working on the first phase right now, which is the farm, and going step by step after that.”