from food bank client to lawyer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As September winds down and Hunger Action Month draws to a close, the Mid-Ohio Food Collective wants families to know the agency is there for them.

A local mother is a testament to the organization’s work.

The market on Gantz Road has served Jessica Birrer for several years.

“When I was younger, I had a series of car accidents that left me with some significant impairments and put me on Social Security disability,” Birrer said.

The road ahead came with challenges.

“There were times when I really wanted to give up,” she said. “It was too tiring to keep trying so many different ways to be successful.”

She said stopping for food at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective fed her soul.

“Besides the food itself, the actual sustenance that it provides to people in need, when you come here and you see bright, shining people like Rebecca and all the volunteers,” Birrer said.

“She’s a gardener,” said Rebecca Peacock-Creagh, market manager. “Gardeners are wonderful people. That’s what they do is grow, and she’s certainly grown since I’ve seen her.”

After frequent market visits and two decades on disability, Birrer is now a lawyer.

Her story is just one of many that Peacock-Creagh hears when she’s at the market.

“We see an average of 450 to 550 families here every day,” she said. “I just lost my job. We’ve never had to do this before. We don’t know how to do this. We’re doing this for my mom.”

“The organizations I got help from gave me some of the motivation to keep going, because when you come here, you’re actually greeted with smiles instead of being made to feel like a petty slip,” said Birrer. “They are happy to provide you with this healthy food to feed your baby while you continue to not give up.”

A family found through food, giving those like Birrer the power to succeed.

“I don’t consider myself swept off my feet,” she said. “I don’t believe that at all. The community helped me get up to cross that finish line.”

Jessica is now doing more volunteer work with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. She encourages others who are struggling to keep going. Birrer also urges people to volunteer with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, even for a month-long shift.