T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County NAACP executive board member Jerry Moore thanks members of Department of Job and Family Services, Local AFSCME 3073, and Belmont County Unify for banning together to raise over $5,000 for Belmont County residents who are SNAP recipients. Pictured from left to right: Local AFSCME 3073 president Amy Slater, Belmont County NAACP and Unify member Gary Obloy, Department of Job and Family Services director Jeff Felton, NAACP executive board member Jerry Moore, DJFS fiscal administrator Jack Regis Jr., and Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont County NAACP, the Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services, Local AFSCME 3073, and Belmont County Unify came together recently to provide Aldi gift cards to residents in need.

More than $5,000 was raised by the coalition, and the gift cards will be given out to Belmont County residents who are SNAP benefit recipients.

DJFS Fiscal Administrator Jack Regis Jr. said that each gift card will have $40 and the only two qualifications are being a Belmont County resident and already being a SNAP benefits recipient.

“If they’re already on SNAP benefits and they’re a Belmont County resident, those are two of the main qualifications, they definitely have to be a Belmont County resident, and being on SNAP benefits that we can already verify,” he said. “But if there’s somebody that maybe loses a job or had a reduction in hours or a layoff or something of that nature, and comes in and is a first time applicant for SNAP benefits, we’ll be able to help those families too, if that, if that’s the situation.”

Regis added that Belmont County NAACP executive board member Jerry Moore contacted him with the idea in the midst of the government shutdown that recently ended.

“Jerry Moore reached out to us the last week of October, when the government was shut down and there seemed to be no end in sight for it, wanting to know what they could do to help families who may not have a Thanksgiving meal,” Regis said. “So he had reached out to the local Aldi store here in St. Clairsville and came up with a plan for a $40 gift card with certain items already earmarked for Thanksgiving.”

He added that the program runs through Christmas Eve to allow the residents an opportunity to afford meals for the holidays.

“Now that the government’s reopened, we’ll still be here to help families with these cards, because there’s always going to be situations that arise that are unexpected, and we want to make sure that families have meals for holidays,” Regis said.

Aldi recently released a completed list for a Thanksgiving meal for $40. The list includes a 14-pound whole turkey, chicken broth, condensed cream of mushroom soup, evaporated milk, Hawaiian sweet rolls, miniature marshmallows, cut green beans, 100% pure canned pumpkin, shells and cheese, brown gravy mix, poultry spices & herbs, French fried onions, pie crust, chicken or cornbread stuffing, whipped dairy topping, three pounds of yellow onions, baby peeled carrots, celery, cranberries, three pounds of sweet potatoes and 10 pounds of russet potatoes.

Moore said he believes it was important to step up during the government shutdown because community action was needed.

“It’s Belmont County residents first, and that’s what we’re doing, to be able to feed families, whether they’re young or old, or whoever is in need, we want to let them have a happy Thanksgiving,” Moore said. “I want to thank all of the people who contributed and helped. It’s been tremendous, and Aldi, let me not forget them, because they stepped up and have been very helpful in allowing us to come in and purchase all these gift cards.”

Belmont County Unify member Marie Compston added that the group was recently created as a nonpartisan collective.

“We’re a community action group, so then we decided that we were going to partner with the NAACP because we have members who are both groups,” she said. “We plan on partnering with them again and helping out to be a support system.”

Local AFSCME 3073 vice president Amy Gunning said that her union was contacted by Regis about participating in raising the funds for the gift cards. Her chapter then had a meeting and approved the donation of $1,000 to help provide the gift cards to residents in need.

“We love to give back to the community, especially during the holidays, but in this time of need, with the stopping of the SNAP benefits, or holding of the SNAP benefits at that time for the government shutdown,” Gunning said.