Local veterans receive assistance

David L. Dye, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·3 min read

Apr. 14—GREENVILLE — Before he lost his job in January of 2020, Larry Sanker served in the Navy from 1990 through 1994 on submarine tenders, mostly in Scotland and Italy.

Though he doesn't typically look for handouts, the Navy veteran and Greenville resident said the MilitaryShare Program has helped him over the past year, which is why he and other veterans turned up Tuesday at the VFW Post 3374 in Greenville.

"We did sign up to serve our country, so if you need help, you should take advantage of it," Sanker said.

Starting in the parking lot, a line of masked veterans and their family members waited as volunteers from FirstEnergy guided them along tables of food, picking out packages that included meat, produce, sweets and drinks.

The volunteers loaded the food onto carts, followed the veterans to the parking lot and helped load their vehicles.

"Everybody's always very helpful," Sanker said of the volunteers.

Tuesday's food distribution was part of the MilitaryShare Program, which provides food to veterans and active-duty families and individuals in Mercer County who need food assistance.

The Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County organizes the program through a partnership with the National Guard and a yearly grant through the Veterans Trust Fund, food warehouse Executive Director Rebecca Page said.

Since the program started more than three years ago in Mercer County, Page said the distributions have grown from about 30 people to the 125 people who registered for Tuesday's event.

This was the first veterans food distribution at the VFW post, with previous events rotating among four locations in the county. Page said the Community Food Warehouse was directed to the VFW by the Good Shepherd Center and Salvation Army in Greenville.

Each veteran received 50 pounds of food, which Page said was enough for about two to three weeks.

Fellow veteran Thomas Narrie, also from Greenville, was among those present Tuesday seeking assistant.

Narrie served in the Army in 1967 and was deployed to Vietnam. Now retired, Narrie said he heard about the MilitaryShare Program when he sought assistance at the Good Shepherd Center.

Narrie encouraged other veterans to look into the program, as the food assistance can help make it easier to handle other costs such as rent or utilities. He credited the Community Food Warehouse staff for making the registration process easier.

"All it took was one phone call and they had everything taken care of," Narrie said.

Army veteran and post Sergeant Clarence Arnold, known as "Boxey" to his friends, said the Greenville VFW donated the space for Tuesday's distribution. Based on the positive reception and the need among area veterans, Arnold said he was open to offering the space for future distributions.

"A lot of veterans might be disabled or on low income," Arnold said. "If we can do something to help the veterans, then we'll do it."

Those who qualify for assistance must register beforehand by calling the Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County at 724-981-0353 and asking for Sarah Worthington, who will help with registration and distribution information.