DELAWARE — Bob Tipple grows more produce than he could possibly eat.
He has 60 tomato plants, 35 pepper plants, two rows of collard greens, a raised bed of Swiss chard, two raised beds of wax beans and yellow beans and more in his backyard garden.
He started the garden in 2025 at his new Westerville home. This year he expanded its square footage to grow more crops.
Tipple has had a green thumb since he was a kid, when he gardened with his five siblings to feed the family. His thumb only became greener as an adult.
Tipple lives alone now, but he only keeps ten percent of the garden’s yield to himself. He donates the rest to People In Need, Inc. of Delaware County’s Food Pantry.
“The need is there, so why not share it? I’ve got the ground and the skills and the time,” he said.
Tipple’s contributions help People In Need (PIN) achieve its goal of providing food pantry clients with fresh produce in every bag, moving away from just canned goods and other non-perishable items.
The PIN pantry has been open since 1981. Pantry organizers started prioritizing produce in every bag in 2021 after adopting the Supporting Wellness in Pantries initiative.
According to the Delaware Public Health District’s 2025 Community Health Assessment Update, six percent of Delaware County adults experienced more than one food insecurity issue in the past year.
Food insecurity looks different for everyone. Some respondents worried about food running out, chose between paying bills or buying food or simply didn’t eat due to not having money to buy food.
The report also notes that limited budgets and access to healthy food options often impact food choices, leading people to choose cheap, shelf-stable foods over fresh produce.
That’s why PIN is making fresh fruit and vegetables more accessible by adding produce to every bag they provide.
PIN’s pantry is the largest in the county, serving between 450 and 500 families each week through its speedy drive-through format.
It’s open Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.
On the last Wednesday afternoon of each month, PIN hosts its monthly produce market, where regular pantry services are not available.
When clients arrive with a photo ID and Delaware County address, one of PIN’s regular 100 volunteers hands them a four-day food supply based on family size. The supply is designed to provide three meals for each person for four days.
Each household can get groceries once per week.
The bags include canned vegetables, canned fruit, non-perishables, a source of protein, a bakery item and whatever fresh produce is available that day.
Where PIN receives its produce
PIN receives most of its produce from Mid Ohio Food Collective — Ohio’s largest food bank, which supplies fresh food to entities in 20 counties.
Mid Ohio Food Collective provides PIN with four to six pallets of produce every other week, often longer-lasting items like apples, onions and potatoes.
“A common misconception of the food pantry is all the food is free. I wish that was the case. We spend thousands of dollars a month on food,” said Mallory Sribanditmongkol, director of community engagement for PIN.
“What we order from them is a mix of things that are available for free, or zero-dollar order items, and things we do pay for,” she said. “But they have a good price and they have a good collective buying power that they offer to their pantry partners.”
PIN also sometimes receives rejected produce from grocery distribution centers. Sribanditmongkol said rejected produce is safe to eat, but might be from a mistaken order, have incorrect packaging or have appearance issues.
Grocery store partners, such as Kroger and Meijer, also donate meat and bakery products, which PIN staffers pick up every week day when it’s available.
There are smaller, local produce providers too, including Seminary Hill Farm and Stratford Ecological Center.
Seminary Hill Farm practices sustainable agriculture and uses the produce to make campus meals, help people in need and support the Community Supported Agriculture program.
Stratford Ecological Center is an educational farm where volunteers and farm-camp children grow produce to feed their livestock and run educational programs. The center donates the leftover produce.
PIN accepts produce from anyone who comes by to donate.
“Anybody can donate produce. If you would like to grow to specifically donate to us, great. If you have a little bit extra in your garden, great. If you’re at the store and you see an amazing sale, great,” Sribanditmongkol said.
In fact, PIN receives regular donations from two backyard-garden growers: Tipple and Roger Hornbaker.
“I had more seed than good sense, so it’s all crowded in here,” Tipple previously told a PIN intern. “It’s obviously more than I can eat and I’m more than willing to share it.”
By the end of the 2025 growing season, Tipple had donated 700 pounds of vegetables. This year, he’s aiming for one ton.
Hornbacker grows tomatoes specifically for PIN, having donated 20,000 pounds of tomatoes by the end of the 2025 growing season.
“It’s a way for me to help other people and do something I enjoy doing,” he previously told PIN.
Demand has increased, but supply has not
PIN sends out an annual client survey asking people what they find most valuable. The answer to most of the questions is produce: more produce and a greater variety of produce.
“There are very few clients who would say, ‘Please don’t give me a single vegetable.’ (Vegetables) are one of the most requested things we hear,” Sribanditmongkol said.
Every year, PIN gives out more pounds of produce than the previous year.
PIN also looks at the population of Delaware County residents living at and below the 200% federal poverty line.
PIN serves roughly 10,000 of the 22,000 to 25,000 individuals living at that level, based on 2021 county data, according to PIN Executive Director Kathy Hoff.
Hoff and her team are always looking for ways to expand their reach, but it’s an uphill battle.
Despite having dedicated growers, PIN is constantly searching for more consistent sources of fresh produce because the supply cannot keep up with the demand.
Adding to the challenge, Mid Ohio Food Collective saw federal cuts to its program last year, which reduced the amount of produce it could supply to PIN by one to two pallets on bi-weekly orders.
“Which is why we’ve been putting out the word to everyone and their brother to bring your produce to us,” Hoff said.
If PIN staffers don’t think the produce they have will be enough to serve every family, they occasionally go to local grocery stores and buy produce there.
Supply isn’t the only limiting factor. Hoff said not everyone can access PIN’s services because they don’t have transportation to get to the pantry.
PIN is trying to combat that with a brand-new program that offers 55 bus passes each month. The passes go quickly.
It’s a short-term solution, Hoff said. Soon, PIN will begin a new pilot program which brings the pantry to those who need it but live farther away.
The mobile unit will solve two challenges: eliminating the transportation barrier and making people aware that PIN services are more accessible than they may think.
Since PIN began prioritizing produce in 2021, there has not been a bag filled without a produce item.
Sribanditmongkol advises anyone who has a backyard garden or even veggies they think might go to waste, to bring them in, as they can make a difference.
