PASTOR’S PEACE by Sarah Teti for the Food Pantry Expansion Task Force
THE NEED. When most of the world was shutting down, the Food Pantry of First Presbyterian stayed open during the pandemic experiencing dramatic growth. It wasn’t easy but the community, the volunteers, and the church rallied to meet the need. As the dust begins to settle and life returns to normal, two things are clear. Food insecurity persists and will most likely grow; First Presbyterian and the Food Pantry will continue to not only meet the need of the hungry, but grow in new ways to meet more needs.
A HISTORY OF GROWTH. What began in a closet with bunch of cans, a few boxes and the desire of two members, Ed and Jane, has grown into a “client choice” program serving more than 6,000 people annually. Along the way the food pantry has taken up more and more space. Yet, we’ve reached a limit. In order to meet and to continue the growth we need more dedicated space to achieve programmatic flexibility as well as expanded services. We need a larger space to meet the growth in need and service. Right now, to meet the need and keep our commitment to “client choice” we need about 1,000 square feet.
THE GOOD NEWS. We have a place to grow. The current home of the Food Pantry, the Social Center of First Presbyterian, can expand to meet our growing needs. And we have 80% of the funds to meet the cost of the expansion. Through the generosity of our community and a county grant, we already have $410,000 to meet the estimated cost of expansion ($500,000).
OUR DREAM OF PARTNERSHIP. The Food Pantry of First Presbyterian wants to build an expansion solely by the generosity and leadership of the community and county. We see this as a partnership. What is given by the community goes to feed the community. Our congregation is the place for the community’s generosity to meet the need of the hungry. Let’s build the future of the FPC Food Pantry together.
