Those involved saw need in their area and many with limited transportation they could help.
DETAILS: Hunger increasing in Clark, Champaign counties
“The Bible promotes the idea of giving and being benevolent. Whatever we do is for good in the community,” said House of Prayer Pastor Ricardo Warfield.
The nonprofit pantry is open noon to 2 p.m. Tuesdays. Canned goods, pasta, soup, eggs, milk, baking materials and other items are available. Most goods come from a partnership with area Walmart stores.
Bread comes from Klosterman’s Bakery, and the church’s treasury pays for frozen meats and certain other items.
The pantry’s roots actually go back nearly a decade when volunteer Michelle Speaks was in a Walmart and noticed torn-open bags of dog food.
Working as a dog warden at the time, Speaks asked management what the store did with such items because she knew lesser fortunate people could use it to take care of their pets. Speaks was allowed to offer those bags for the families.
This came in handy when the food pantry was being developed. The Tuttle Road Walmart manager Zachary Lones was eager to help.
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The stores often has dented or damaged cans and packages, and can either send them back to the manufacturers or donate to causes such as this.
Lones is eager to do the latter, and so are many of the two stores’ associates.
“This is a cause we’re getting behind this year,” he said. “We’d rather donate when possible.”
Pantry director Alonzo McCoy said the pantry makes sure its goods are not out of date. He’s networked with other area food pantries to make sure the items get used when possible.
Any unclaimed bread goes to another local church, for instance.
“Our goal is to share, not waste,” McCoy said.
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The food pantry welcomes donations from individuals and groups as well, from food products to monetary gifts or gift cards.
“I don’t care if it’s a dollar, anything is helpful,” said Edith Davis, the food pantry’s assistant director.
Future endeavors include activities to promote awareness and expanding services to help area youth such as computer activities.
A GoFundMe account to raise money for the pantry and establishing a website for updates and to open up more donation opportunities are also on the agenda.
“We’ve helped several people already. We have so many more we’d like to help,” McCoy said.
For more information on the pantry, call 937-605-6219 or houseofprayerministries92@yahoo.com.
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