Interchurch Food Pantry expands hours to meet need

More people than ever before were coming to the Interchurch Food Pantry in need of help.

For the past 15 months, hungry Johnson County residents flocked to the pantry’s building five days a week, in hope of finding relief. Through generous donations and support from the community, about 2.2 million pounds of food was provided to more than 25,000 households.

The need was even greater, but the food pantry simply didn’t have the resources to open on additional days. Until now.

Starting this weekend, the Interchurch Food Pantry will open on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. Families who are unavailable during the pantry’s workweek hours can still have the opportunity to receive food.

Taking advantage of a drive-through process that they implemented during the pandemic, organizers hope that the move is yet another way to ease some of the burden of food insecurity throughout the community.

“In the past, people who came on Saturdays told us they couldn’t come during the week, so we’re pretty sure there was a population that needed assistance that we needed to figure out how to serve,” said Carol Phipps, executive director of the food pantry. “Wage-earners are still struggling to get back into the employment market, and they’re just barely scraping by. That’s who we’re trying to serve.”

Prior to the start of the pandemic, the Interchurch Food Pantry had offered Saturday hours every week. But, Karol Dougherty, the Saturday pantry manager, died in March 2020. Her death left a void in the leadership at the pantry, and no one to oversee distribution on the weekends.

And with COVID-19 making it impossible for some volunteers to take part, food pantry organizers decided to focus on adapting operations to best fit the needs of people, many of whom were laid off and were able to come to get food on weekdays.

An outdoor food distribution, in which drivers stay in their cars and select the food they want, was put in place. New volunteers were recruited, including many young people, expanding the food pantry’s existing workforce. Home deliveries were introduced to reach those who were unable to leave their houses.

“We completely changed how we distributed food. We radically altered how we use our dedicated volunteer army. And, we’ve received heartfelt support from the community,” Phipps said. “Mostly, we’ve kept the faith, kept safe, and pushed forward in the worst of times so we could fulfill our vital mission — feeding families in need.”

Still, the idea was always to bring back the Saturday option, Phipps said.

As pandemic restrictions loosened, and more and more employers started rehiring people, the situation of those in need changed, Phipps said.

“In the early stages of the pandemic, it really wasn’t much of an issue. Unemployment was so high that people who needed food could come during the week. They weren’t working,” she said. “But as that unemployment rate started dropping and people were working, they couldn’t come then because of their jobs or lack of transportation.”

In late April, the food pantry leadership examined different ways to approach Saturdays. First, they had to find managers to organize the distribution on the weekends. Three board members — Phil Howard, Peggy Kinsey and Liz Cooper — offered to split up the task and make sure Saturday hours operated seamlessly.

At the same time, additional volunteers were essential to ensuring the food made it to clients. Four area churches stepped forward to take responsibility for providing workers for those Saturdays.

Members from Mt. Auburn United Methodist Church, Honey Creek United Methodist Church, Grace United Methodist Church and Hopewell Presbyterian Church will volunteer, with two churches taking the shift the second Saturday of the month and the other two working the fourth Saturday

For Mt. Auburn, the opportunity to serve fit into the congregation’s mission to expand beyond the church walls, said senior pastor Jeff Beck.

“We have to be a part of our community. That’s where we’re trying to do that in new and different ways, which is why we’re doing this with the food pantry,” he said. “And it’s what we want to do — a church should not be an isolated entity unto itself. Hopefully, we’re working to build the community.”

The arrangement has put the Interchurch Food Pantry in a comfortable situation as it addresses food insecurity in the county. Still, pantry leaders understand that the need is going to remain, and they need to keep advancing their approach to addressing it.

“Feeding people is what we’re all about. We have the food, we now have the volunteer staff to do it,” Phipps said. “For families who are scraping by, it means they can use the dollars they have to pay for other necessary things — utilities, rent, health insurance, shoes for their kids. Whatever they need it for.”

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Interchurch Food Pantry

What: The food pantry is expanding its hours to serve more people, opening on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month in addition to every day during the week.

Hours: Noon- 3 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9-11 a.m. second and fourth Saturdays, starting June 12.

Where: 211 Commerce Drive, Franklin

How to help:

Volunteers: Volunteers are needed 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email [email protected] to get started volunteering. Coronavirus-related procedures require 100% masks at all times, only healthy workers, social distancing and temperatures are taken before each shift.

College and high school students, age 16 and over, are welcome to volunteer on weekdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Email [email protected] to get started

Monetary donations: Can be mailed to Interchurch Food Pantry, P.O. Box 147, Whiteland, IN 46184 or via Paypal or Givelify on the organization’s website www.jcpantry.org.

Food donations: Can be dropped off between 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday at 211 Commerce Drive. Drive up to the marked Donation Door beyond the tent by the overhead door. Or, drop it in the after-hours donation shed by the donation door.

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