New churches meal plan initiative to help with food insecurity

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley executive director, Stacy Decicco met with community churches in Parkersburg. During the meeting, ways of making it easier to get food for those who are most in need was discussed.

Decicco said, “And the conversations just grew about, ‘How could we streamline? How could we make the most of resources?’ And truly, bottom line, ‘How do we make sure these programs are sustainable for the people that depend on them?’ So, the ideas were born that maybe instead of multiple locations serving on Saturday and multiple on Sunday, when they are all within walking distance of one another in some of the highest need areas of the community, could we streamline that?”

Decicco and church officials came up with a new meal plan initiative. Which allows churches to have scheduled community meals for those in the area.

Decicco said this will help with allocating resources and allowing volunteers to get better work management.

“This collaborative effort really provides the opportunity for people to bring to the table what they have, what their resources are. And at the end of the day, just make sure that we’re serving the community well and they’re putting forward a great program,” Decicco said.

The United Way will act as fiscal oversight and help with volunteer recruitment and training.

Decicco said the initiative already has multiple churches on board.

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