Kids serve up help

The day after Halloween, Don Johnson got a treat. Members of Superior High School’s National Honor Society called up and said they had a delivery for the Faith United Methodist Church Food Pantry. Ten minutes later, they dropped off more than 1,500 pounds of food, much of it packed into plastic laundry baskets.

“The kids in the community are really stepping up to the plate,” said Johnson, co-coordinator for the pantry. Other recent donations have included almost 400 pounds of food from students at Northern Lights Elementary School and 50 pounds of food from Superior Middle School.

“We’d like to thank all of the organizations and groups and individuals that have donated,” Johnson said, especially the SHS kids, who collected food for the pantry instead of candy Halloween night. Their donation, he said, was “overwhelming.”

This year, the food pantry has served an average of 110 households per month, up from 104 last year. That translates into an average of 2,500 pounds of food distributed each month. Johnson said they have had as many as 44 households and as few as 16 stop in per week. Last week, 35 households received food.

“There seems to be more of a need than there has been,” Johnson said. While the pantry is adequately stocked right now due to donations from students, area churches and other organizations, demand is expected to increase over the holidays.

“We’re doing OK now, but next week might be different,” Johnson said. The pantry is donation based, he said, so help is always appreciated. Food can be dropped off at the church between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. any day.

An outreach mission from the church, the pantry is available to any Douglas County residents in need. Volunteers who work at the pantry also help connect clients with other resources in the area.

“We want to let people know we’re available to provide assistance if there’s a need,” Johnson said. The pantry is open 4-6:30 p.m. every Tuesday at Faith United Methodist Church, 1531 Hughitt Ave. Adults must present a photo ID or proof of address to use the pantry.

For more information, call (715) 394-9608.

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