Operation Home Plate

09/02/2026

🇺🇸 LABOR DAY HOURS UPDATE 🇺🇸

Operation Homeplate will be CLOSED Monday, September 7 in observance of Labor Day.

❤️ We will be OPEN Tuesday, September 8 with EXTENDED HOURS from 4–8 PM!

Please help us spread the word by sharing! ❤️

📍 777 S. Summit Street, Smithville
❤️ Operation Homeplate Community Pantry
Rooted in Service and Community

08/31/2026

Lots of new items for today's distribution. We have meat, eggs, yogurt, bread plenty of pasta, cereal, oatmeal, crackers, cookies, chips, and as always a fresh supply of the Starbucks goodies. Come see us at our new location 777 S Summit Street in Smithville. 1-4pm today (August 31) 6-8pm tomorrow (September 1). Please leave the spaces closest to the entrance for those with a handicap placard. Look for our yellowish green people to find the door

08/31/2026

🎨💙 Friendly reminder to all of our Summer Backpack Program kiddos!

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY to use your blue ticket at Beyond the Brush to pick up your FREE Summer Craft Kit! ☀️🎨

If you still have your blue ticket, don’t forget to stop by and use it! 💙

A huge thank you to Beyond the Brush studio for helping us add a little extra fun and creativity to our kids’ summer! ❤️

08/30/2026

❤️ **OPERATION HOMEPLATE PANTRY UPDATES & REMINDERS** ❤️

As we settle into our new home, we want to share a few important reminders to help pantry days run as smoothly as possible for everyone.

📍 **LOCATION & HOURS**
777 S. Summit Street, Smithville
Inside St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

**Monday:** 1–4 PM
**Tuesday:** 6–8 PM

🚗 **RIDING TOGETHER?**
If multiple households are riding together, please have the **driver sign in first**. This allows us to have the driver’s household pulled up first in the parking line and helps keep your group together.

♿ **PARKING**
Please leave the spaces directly in front of our entrance available for those with handicap placards and do not park in any marked handicap spaces. Please park in designated spaces only.

🛒 **SHOPPING FOR MULTIPLE HOUSEHOLDS**
If you are shopping for more than two households, we will serve **two households at a time**. Additional households will need to be signed in, and you will go through the line again. This helps us keep everything moving and ensures each household is served accurately.

👥 **PANTRY SHOPPING POLICY**
Please limit your shopping party to **ONE guest**.

🧸 **CHILDREN’S AREA**
Parents are **strongly encouraged to take advantage of our supervised children’s area while shopping.** This gives kiddos a safe place to hang out while helping us keep the shopping area less crowded.

🥤 **FOOD & DRINKS**
Absolutely **NO food or open drink containers** are permitted inside the pantry.

🥚 **EGG CARTONS**
Please **DO NOT bring any more egg cartons until further notice.** We collected them faster than our egg suppliers can use them! If you know an egg supplier willing to trade cartons for eggs, please send them our way. Tax receipts can be provided for donated eggs upon request.

📱 **STAY UPDATED**
Text ** to 81010** for pantry reminders, emergency closures, extra open days, and other important updates.

📢 Please continue sharing our new location with anyone who uses the pantry. We don’t want anyone showing up at our old location and thinking we are closed!

We are still learning what works best in our new space, and we truly appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation as we continue improving the process.

Thank you for growing right along with Operation Homeplate. ❤️🥦

**Rooted in Service and Community.**
___________________________________________
❤️ **ACTUALIZACIONES Y RECORDATORIOS DE LA DESPENSA OPERATION HOMEPLATE** ❤️

Mientras nos adaptamos a nuestro nuevo hogar, queremos compartir algunos recordatorios importantes para ayudar a que los días de despensa funcionen de la mejor manera posible para todos.

📍 **UBICACIÓN Y HORARIOS**
777 S. Summit Street, Smithville
Dentro de St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

**Lunes:** 1–4 PM
**Martes:** 6–8 PM

🚗 **¿VIENEN JUNTOS?**
Si varios hogares vienen juntos en el mismo vehículo, por favor hagan que **el conductor se registre primero**. Esto nos permite atender primero al hogar del conductor en la fila del estacionamiento y ayuda a mantener a su grupo junto.

♿ **ESTACIONAMIENTO**
Por favor, deje disponibles los espacios directamente frente a nuestra entrada para las personas con permiso de estacionamiento para discapacitados. No se estacione en ningún espacio marcado para discapacitados. Estacione únicamente en los espacios designados.

🛒 **¿RECOGE ALIMENTOS PARA VARIOS HOGARES?**
Si está recogiendo alimentos para más de dos hogares, atenderemos **dos hogares a la vez**. Deberá registrar los hogares adicionales y volver a pasar por la fila. Esto nos ayuda a mantener la fila en movimiento y a asegurarnos de atender correctamente a cada hogar.

👥 **POLÍTICA PARA COMPRAR EN LA DESPENSA**
Por favor, limite su grupo de compras a **UN solo acompañante**.

🧸 **ÁREA INFANTIL**
Se recomienda **encarecidamente a los padres que aprovechen nuestra área infantil supervisada mientras realizan sus compras.** Esto les brinda a los niños un lugar seguro mientras nos ayuda a mantener el área de compras menos congestionada.

🥤 **ALIMENTOS Y BEBIDAS**
**NO se permite ningún alimento ni recipiente de bebida abierto** dentro de la despensa.

🥚 **CARTONES DE HUEVOS**
Por favor, **NO traiga más cartones de huevos hasta nuevo aviso.** ¡Los hemos recolectado más rápido de lo que nuestros proveedores de huevos pueden utilizarlos! Si conoce a algún proveedor de huevos dispuesto a intercambiar cartones por huevos, por favor póngalo en contacto con nosotros. Podemos proporcionar recibos para fines fiscales por los huevos donados, si se solicitan.

📱 **MANTÉNGASE INFORMADO**
Envíe un mensaje de texto con ** al 81010** para recibir recordatorios de la despensa, avisos de cierres de emergencia, días adicionales de apertura y otras actualizaciones importantes.

📢 Por favor, continúe compartiendo nuestra nueva ubicación con cualquier persona que utilice la despensa. ¡No queremos que nadie vaya a nuestra ubicación anterior y piense que estamos cerrados!

Todavía estamos aprendiendo qué funciona mejor en nuestro nuevo espacio y agradecemos sinceramente la paciencia y cooperación de todos mientras continuamos mejorando nuestro proceso.

Gracias por seguir creciendo junto con Operation Homeplate. ❤️🥦

**Arraigados en el Servicio y la Comunidad.**

08/27/2026

📣 WE COULD USE A FEW EXTRA HANDS TUESDAY EVENING! ❤️

Have a couple hours to spare? Come volunteer with Operation Homeplate from 6–8 PM!

🛒 Help pull carts for families
❤️ Help with kiddos while parents shop
🙌 Jump in wherever an extra hand is needed!

Need volunteer or community service hours? WE CAN HELP!

🎓 Teens needing hours for National Honor Society or school
📋 Jobs & Family Services
🤝 Other community service requirements

As a nonprofit, we can document and sign off on eligible volunteer hours.

📍 777 S Summit Street, Smithville
⏰ Tuesday | 6–8 PM

Bring your teen, bring a friend, or come yourself! A couple hours of your time can make a BIG difference on pantry night. ❤️

08/26/2026

🎒 IT’S OFFICIAL! OUR WEEKEND BACKPACK PROGRAM IS OPEN! ❤️

Registration is now open for Operation Homeplate’s 2026–2027 Weekend Backpack Program!

The program provides supplemental, kid-friendly food to help support children and families over the weekend.

🍎 Pre-K through 12th grade
🏫 Public, private & homeschool students
📍 Wayne County and surrounding communities
❤️ FREE for participating families

Smithville students will have their bags sent home from school. Families in surrounding districts can pick up during our pantry hours.

📅 August 24, 2026 through May 27, 2027

❤️ WE’RE ALSO LOOKING FOR SPONSORS!

We are still looking for sponsors to help support this year’s Backpack Program. If you, your business, organization, or employer would like to help us keep backpacks filled throughout the school year, we would love to hear from you!

📧 [email protected]
📞 330-765-9092

Or even better, stop by and check us out! Come see our new space, learn more about what we do, and see firsthand where your support goes. ❤️

📍 777 S. Summit St., Smithville

Registration link below! ⬇️

https://gforms.app/r/frgTF8u

Operation Homeplate
A program of Homeschool Voyages
❤️ Rooted in Service and Community

Operation Home Plate, a program of Homeschool Voyages, in partnership with the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, is offering a Summer Backpack Program for children in Wayne County, including public, private, and homeschool students. Each registered child will receive a weekly bag of supplemental food....

08/25/2026

We are open tonight at St Paul's Lutheran Church located at 777 S Summit Street in Smithville. If you need help come see us from 6-8pm. If you have reusable bags please bring them as we are low on boxes tonight

08/24/2026

Getting ready for our first day in our new location. We will be open today from 1-4pm and tomorrow 6-8pm

777 S Summit Street in Smithville. Look for our letter board next to the Saint Paul's Lutheran Church sign.

08/23/2026

As we head into our first full week at our new home, we want to take a minute to share a few important reminders. ❤️

1. 🥚 Please DO NOT bring any more egg cartons until further notice. We collected them faster than our egg suppliers can use them! If you know an egg supplier willing to trade a few dozen cartons for a dozen or two of eggs, please put them in touch with us. We can provide a tax receipt for donated eggs upon request.
2. 📍 We have moved and are officially ready to serve our community at 777 S. Summit Street in Smithville. We are located inside St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, only a minute or two from our previous location.

Our hours are still:
Mondays 1–4 PM
Tuesdays 6–8 PM

3. ♿ Please leave the parking spaces directly in front of our entrance available for those with handicap placards. Please also avoid parking in any spaces marked handicap throughout the rest of the lot in case visitors to the church need them. The parking lot is well marked, so please park in designated spaces only. This helps keep things safer for our volunteers, shoppers, and everyone using the church.
4. ❤️ Please be patient with us over the next couple of weeks while we figure out what works best in our new space. We have a whole new setup and are excited to find the best way to use it to better serve our community.
5. 📢 If you know someone who utilizes our pantry, please help us spread the word about our new location. We don’t want anyone going to the old location and thinking the pantry is closed.
6. 🛒 If you are shopping for more than two households, we will serve two households at a time. You’ll need to sign in the additional households and go through the line again. This helps us keep the line moving and make sure each household is served accurately.
7. 🥫 If you would like to donate food or funds, we can accept donations during pantry hours and sometimes outside of pantry hours as well. Just send us a message and we will find a time that works with your schedule. Tax receipts are available for donations.
8. 🧸 Do you have soft sensory items you’d like to donate? We could use a few! We’re looking for soft sensory toys, soft or cloth books, Color Wonder books and markers, and other small, quiet sensory items that can help keep kiddos comfortable while their family shops. New or gently used, easy-to-clean items are welcome.
9. 📱 Want to stay up to date? Text to 81010 for pantry reminders, emergency closures, extra open days, and other important updates.

Thank you for continuing to support Operation Homeplate and for growing right along with us in our new home. ❤️🥦

08/22/2026

To help orient people a bit better. This is the intersection off of 585 that you are looking for. If coming from Wooster turn right if coming from the direction of 57 or Apple Creek Road turn left. The church will be about a mile (me guessing at the distance) down on the right hand side. St Paul's Lutheran Church is what you are looking for. 777 S Summit Street in Smithville