By Laura Smith

On an unseasonably warm day in January, more than 1,000 families in Lincoln’s Near South neighborhood are getting the chance to get food for the next two weeks.

For free.

For the past three years, the Jacob’s Well program has been held at the First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln serving groceries to those in need.

Jacob’s Well was started four years ago out of Mark Thornton’s house in the Near South neighborhood. As the need grew, a new space was needed.

“When we came up with this idea, the Food Bank was on board since day one,” said Thornton, executive director of Jacob’s Well.

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The Food Bank of Lincoln’s vision is to alleviate hunger in Southeast Nebraska and it distributes more than 29,000 meals a day to the people of Lincoln. This equals about 9 million pounds of food annually. It is funded largely by private contributors but also gets funding from United Way, special events and federal programs.

“The Food Bank is a 30-year-old nonprofit that is run by public servants and people interested in benefiting others,” said Scott Young, executive director of the Food Bank.

Young has worked for the Food Bank for 11 years. Before working at the Food Bank, he worked in the radio business for 28 years.

“Working in the for-profit world helps someone else achieve their dreams, which is fine,” Young said. “But I have always had an interest in working for the benefit of people that need help. When this job opened up, I applied, under-qualified and got the job.”

The Food Bank employs 20 full-time and two part-time employees. It also has great support from the community, attracting more than 11,000 volunteers in 2011.

“A lot of people in the community want us to succeed,” Young said. “We have great volunteer involvement in all of our programs. In our backpack program, we have 200 volunteers help out a week.”

While the support from the community is there, the Food Bank still cannot feed all of those in need. The Food Bank is continuously growing, but the need for food is vast.

The Food Bank serves 16 counties in Nebraska. The number of people in need within those counties can get overwhelming.

“No charity meets the entire needs,” Young said. “The toughest question I deal with is who gets help and who doesn’t? It is a painful decision.”

Another obstacle the Food Bank faces is a cultural barrier. Some immigrants and refugees, part of the Food Bank’s clientele, don’t know how to use some of the food, like Capri Sun pouches and canned food products.

Retailers and wholesalers, such as Walmart, Hy-Vee and Super Saver in Lincoln, donate the food to the Food Bank. Ethnic and cultural specific foods are not usually received.

Five years ago the Food Bank got a fresh produce delivery donation, which helped tremendously.

“Having fresh produce is great for the immigration population, rather than canned food,” Young said.

Refugees and immigrants in Lincoln depend on the Food Bank to survive in Lincoln, especially those who cannot work because of disabilities and low-income levels.

Jacques Runiga, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo first landed in the United States in December 2000.

When he arrived, new faces, a new language and new food overwhelmed him.

“I was scared, I know no one,” Runiga said. “In New York, I come together with some others and found a roommate.”

Runiga and his roommate moved to Lincoln, but the roommate soon moved again to Minnesota. Runiga was placed with a second roommate, who showed him how to cook the new American food.

“He cooked for me, showed me how to use the stove and forced me to eat,” Runiga said. “Learning how to use the food was hardest part.”

Runiga first used the Food Bank three years ago by coming to the Jacob’s Well program. Runiga is blind and cannot work.

The box full of food he receives feeds him for two weeks.

It was at Jacob’s Well where Runiga meet his good friend, Kangambo “Celestine” Muboto, also from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Coming here is like bringing together a community,” Runiga said. “The people I know there at home make me know him. It’s a sense of home.”

Muboto came to the U.S. in 2009. His life back home was not pleasant. He was nearly beaten to death by the government and scars covering his body remind him of the experiences he encountered.

“Back home the government killed my family,” Muboto said. “I came alone over to America and lost everything. Being here, life is good.”

A language barrier and a hand left unworkable by beatings back home have kept Muboto from finding a job. He relies on the Food Bank for food.

“In refugee camp in Kenya I lived off food mice were also eating,” he said. “It had to last for 15 days. The food now is good.”

Runiga and Muboto are just two of many refugees who receive food donated from the Food Bank at the Jacob’s Well program.

“We see refugees from all over every other Saturday,” Thornton said. “The amount of people we serve right now is almost at capacity. We are kind of at a point where it can’t get any bigger.”

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Back at the Jacob’s Well program, families and individuals take a number and wait in the church sanctuary until the food from the Food Bank has been unloaded from the truck. Since it’s winter, hot chocolate is served.

“We try to do the set-up in the most dignified way to not make people feel like they are being led like cattle,” Thornton said.

Once the food is unloaded, volunteers, some of whom started out as recipients of the program, guide those waiting in line.

The Jacob’s Well program is just one way the Food Bank of Lincoln is helping reduce hunger problem in Lincoln.

Other programs the Food Bank implements include the Backpack Program, the Housewarming Project, the SNAP Program and Neighborhood FOOD.

“The Food Bank is innovative and always growing,” Young sad. “Our staff grows and overcomes challenges daily. We laugh a lot. Work is pretty hard, but we enjoy what we do and strive to help the community in need.”