COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — September is Hunger Action Month — an opportunity to bring awareness to the food insecurity issues in our community.
The Mid-Ohio Food Collective and its partners are helping to combat the problem serving thousands of families across 20 counties. The food they provide is helping save lives for some central Ohio men battling addiction.
Todd Seligman, a coordinator at the Refuge, is no stranger to preparing large meals. The former executive chef is whipping up dozens of blueberry scones.
“Forty-year career, kind of worked all over the world, very successful career,” said Seligman.
Among his accomplishments, Seligman was responsible for feeding athletes at five different Olympic games. But after four decades in the kitchen, life took a turn.
“At the end of that career, just alcohol overtook me,” said Seligman.
After relapsing several times, a trip to the ER helped connect him to the Refuge.
“It was different, it was 13 months, Christian-based, change your life,” said Seligman. “And I knew I needed to do that.”
“We are focused on building healthy relationships,” said Austin Hill, who leads Strategic Partnerships at the Refuge. “It’s not to get guys sober, it’s to give guys the tools to build healthy relationships.”
The Refuge is a faith-based addiction recovery center. Beyond the daily curriculum, the success of their program starts with sharing a meal.
“That’s where a lot of healing happens,” said Hill.
But those meals wouldn’t be possible without the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
“If we didn’t have this relationship with them, we would be spending an awful lot of money to help feed up to 60 guys three times a day, seven days a week,” said Hill.
“Last year alone, Mid-Ohio Food Collective provided the Refuge more than 200,000 pounds of food and almost all of that food was at no cost,” said Mike Hochron, Senior Vice President of Communications at Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
The Collective distributed 84 million pounds of food in 2023 with more than 500,000 meals having a communal impact.
“The men served here are able to rebuild their lives, rebuild themselves, rebuild community and the food we’re able to provide helps make that possible,” said Hochron.
Seligman was one of those men. Now he serves as a coordinator at the Refuge, giving back the best way he knows how. And it’s those life transformations they say that keep the Refuge going.
“The ability to provide a well-balanced meal that has fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, proteins, is just really so important,” said Seligman.
“That’s the hope that keeps pushing us forward and something that’s often very, very messy, tragic and sad” said Hill.
The Refuge gets dozens of pallets of food every Tuesday from the Mid-Ohio Food Collective and it really took a production to get it all off the truck. And with that food coming in at no cost to them, the Refuge opens its doors to the community at no cost saying that no men will have to pay to take advantage of its program.
