By Lois Rockhill
The July issue of a local church newsletter focused on the Fruit of the Spirit. Contributors were invited to write one page, double-spaced accounts of kindness or goodness they experienced or observed in the outreach ministry of the church. Five of the eight authors wrote about the church’s food assistance pantry.
The majority of the programs supported by Second Harvest Food Bank are pantries. Nearly all of these pantries are operated by churches or supported by the faith-base community. Most have no paid staff, and most have been serving their communities for a decade or more.
Feeding the hungry and ministering to those in need are practical outcomes of people deeply committed to their religious beliefs. Churches in every community and of every denomination take this mandate seriously. While temples and mosques are not common in our region of Indiana, devout people of all beliefs look for opportunity to give to those in need.
The people sharing in the church newsletter left this reader in awe of the process of pantry day. They painted a picture of people of the church and people of the pantry inspiring one another. What a tremendous commitment on the part of volunteers to give hours of their time daily, weekly, monthly to unload trucks, handle cases and tons of food, greet those needing assistance and do many, many other acts of kindness.
There is usually a faithful core of volunteers who keep a pantry going. They are the workers, the ones who keep the food coming in and the doors open. It is this core of volunteers who are most often blessed by those they help. They see people in need helping each other even when it means sharing meager resources to do so.
The newsletter tells a touching story of one pantry client providing another with a ride home and with assistance carrying groceries up to this elderly man’s apartment. Another tells of grandparents caring for grandchildren and reaching out to a child in the neighborhood who also needs their help.
We learn in this newsletter that these pantry volunteers are doing more than providing food to needy neighbors. They write with a joy of being involved in this ministry. They write with a real love for the people who enter their lives through the pantry door. They write in admiration of the whole network that gets food through the system and on to the tables of people struggling to make ends meet.
Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana will bring millions of pounds of food into this region by the end of this year. Perhaps a couple hundred thousand pounds will go to this particular pantry to help them feed their neighbors.
We know that local pantries will continue to feel the pressure of diminishing resources and increased need. Second Harvest is committed to filling that need by funneling donations from the food industry to our network of pantries and meal programs.
Perhaps it is time for your church or organization to establish a food pantry or commit to ongoing support of one serving your community. Funds, food and volunteers are needed at every level of the food assistance network. Visit our Web site at www.curehunger.org for more information or phone (765) 287-8698 ext. 100 to get involved.
Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.
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