EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WKBN) — On Thursday, Second Harvest Food Bank was in East Palestine giving residents some much-needed relief.

Volunteers with the food bank and Huntington Bank handed out cleaning supplies, bottled water and milk. Demand was high. Second Harvest had enough to provide roughly 250 families with these items.

Volunteers had to begin the drive-thru distribution a half hour early as a line began to form.
Those involved shared why helping the East Palestine community hits close to home.

“This is a community I actually grew up near,” said Sam Huston with Huntington Bank. “You know the parks and things like that, that we came and played at as a kid. So, you know, this is very close to home for me.”

“We’ve got a great community here. I’m local, I’m from East Palestine,” said Kim Brock, director of operations with Second Harvest Food Bank. “So, come check us out. We’ve got some great people here, we’ve got great businesses.”

Brock says one way people can support the East Palestine community is by supporting local businesses. If you’d like to donate to Second Harvest you can drop off items or monetary donations at their Youngstown location.