Since 1985, The Pantry (formerly known as John Knox Food Pantry) has provided low-income residents of southeastern Kent County with a full menu of life-sustaining services: emergency food, holiday giving programs, social services referrals and more recently; community gardens, health and wellness education and fitness programs. But our ultimate goal is much greater than providing critical, stop-gap services for people in need. The Pantry aims to empower our neighbors to take charge of their lives and their families’ futures. To this end, in 2014 we hired a case-worker to work individually with neighbors to help them make healthy choices and successfully navigate the complexities of the ever changing Social Services network.
We tell our neighbors to look forward and the Pantry is doing the same. We have outgrown our currently location (we have our social worker and 3 interns sharing one cubicle under the stairwell) and need to relocate to a space that will accommodate our growing programs and the community’s needs. We are actively seeking new space that would provide for appropriate food storage, private office space, multiple classrooms and room for programs that will focus on community engagement and work with children, where the greatest chance of ending generational poverty lies. At the Pantry, we believe that lifting up one of our neighbors lifts up all of us. Investing in the work of the Pantry means you are investing in the futures of neighbors in need, individuals and families and assures that the entire community grows healthier and stronger.
Leave a Reply