Christian Love Pantry

volunteers can buy food, including meat, for 16 cents a pound through the Food Bank so they can distribute it to their clients. “We get a lot of good food for very little money,” Osborn said. “It allows us to give generously.”

In addition to bread and pastries, Publix donates pallets of food a few times a year. Fresh Value offers a discount on food, and fresh produce is harvested from Gateway Community Garden. In addition, local farmers donate fresh eggs. The volunteers also provide recipes and information about other social services available.

Meeting The Need

At its peak, the Christian Love Pantry provided nearly 3,000 families with regular services in a year. In 2020, the numbers dropped since clients received relief payments from the government, but since then the numbers have been on the rise again. In 2021, the ministry served 1,150 households with 2,961 people, Turton said. Last year, 1,406 families with 3,607 people were served. About 30 percent of those were children.

Although volunteers currently number about 100, there’s always room for more, according to Debbie Parmenter, who is a former volunteer coordinator and current Board chair. Volunteer opportunities range from working directly with clients for screening and food distribution, stocking donations, using pallet jacks to move large quantities of food and picking up daily donations at Publix. Only one shift per month is required, but many volunteers look forward to helping more often.

“We all have our niche,” Osborn said. “This is one little thing we can do once or twice a month that contributes to the community at large.”

Many of the volunteers are retired and have supported the ministry financially for years, but they are now enjoying a more personal commitment now that their children are grown, and job commitments have ended. “Many of us for many years had more money than time to help,” Turton said. “It’s indescribably better to be on this side of it and provide more than financial support.” l

For information about receiving assistance, call (205) 338-2358 during the ministry’s business hours, which are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. To learn about volunteer opportunities, message them on The Christian Love Pantry Facebook page.