Update on the St. Thomas' Food Pantry, May 15, 2020
 

While so much has changed around us in the past eight weeks, one thing has remained unchanged – the weekly distribution of groceries from the St. Thomas’ Food Pantry, a twenty-plus-year outreach mission of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. Thanks to the leadership of our rector, Herbert Jones, pantry manager Liz Pearce,  and a core group of devoted volunteers, the pantry has continued to remain open and true to its mission of providing neighbors in need with nutritious food, positive social interactions and educational information focusing on healthy lifestyles.
 

The week of March 16th, weekly attendance doubled, then later tripled, due to several area food pantries closing down, schools closing and the loss of jobs. Prior to COVID19, typical weekly attendance hovered around 75 households (impacting ~300 people weekly), with 15 to 20 “new" households each week. Attendance climbed to 252 households on May 14th, with 78 new households added that day.
 

Our partnerships in the community have been critical. We are designated as an Emergency Relief Agency by our local food bank, Feed More, and so we are given additional allocations of USDA inventory and receive weekly deliveries of 12,000 pounds of food.  We continue to pick up donated inventory from Food Lion, Montana Gold Bread Company, and have received grocery donations from neighbors. We have received hand crafted masks for our volunteers and guests, and financial donations from church members and community supporters. Most recently, the St. Thomas’ Food Pantry received a grant from Food Lion and was a designated charity for an area wide YMCA food drive. Anthem Healthkeepers donated cloth grocery bags, and Virginia Public Media provided us with educational flyers for our families.
 

The financial implications have changed our operations, as we have had to purchase grocery bags, since Trader Joes is no longer donating them to us. We are purchasing additional cleaning supplies, gloves, sanitation tools and so forth. The tables, carts and handtrucks we own are getting used in different ways, and since we are retro-fitting equipment, we will need to buy new equipment soon. For example, we are using folding tables to pre-pack bags that are groaning and straining under the weight of the items on the table. If we are to continue our distributions in this manner, we will likely need commercial tables and additional heavy duty carts.
 

The transition of our food pantry from a “pop-up” style market to a distribution center has not been easy, but we have met our goals each week and have not run out of food. With the ongoing prayers from our church members, donations from our community and a steadfast roster of volunteers, we anticipate continued success. In the words of one of our guests, “We can count on St. Thomas to be here. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”