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Hunger: Collin County’s four-letter word
Liz McGathey / staff photo - William, a God’s Food Pantry volunteer, stocks donated food on pantry shelves as staff get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday.
By Marthe Stinton, mstinton@acnpapers.com
In 2010 Collin County was ranked as one of the 100 Best Places to Live in America by CNN/Money Magazine, and Plano was ranked among the top 100 wealthiest cities in the United States, according to the U.S. Wealth Centers survey by Portfolio.com. Beneath the area’s thriving citizenship, however, is a growing faction of residents who have fallen on hard times and depend on the kindness of others to keep food on the table.
Three Plano food pantries are struggling to keep up with the volume of clients with sometimes limited resources, but God’s Food Pantry, Minnie’s Food Pantry and Seven Loaves Food Pantry are all grateful for the community support they receive and hope to continue being able to provide services for the area’s hungry.
Donations rise during the holidays, but the other 10 months of the year pose more questions than answers.
Founded in 1997, God’s Food Pantry is a faith-based 501(c)3 nonprofit. Linda White, pantry president, said the pantry serves approximately 50,000 people a year.
“We have seen a steady increase because of the economy and the fact that there are no jobs out here,” she said. “Even though they are saying the economy is picking up, I haven’t seen it. So many people are losing their jobs, and even college kids are coming here because they can’t afford to go to college and eat too. A lot of them are living on Ramen noodles. It’s hard on everyone.”
White said the pantry serves the homeless, the elderly and anyone else in need of assistance.
“We serve the homeless who don’t have jobs and are living on the street; some of them are even living in dumpsters, some in the park, some under bridges,” she said. “We serve the elderly that have a fixed income, but that doesn’t account for groceries; if they do buy groceries they won’t have money for their medicine.”
During the holidays, though the need is steady, the pantry receives more donations, White said.
“That is when people are more giving because they remember they have to help the food pantries,” she said. “Without the help of individuals, businesses and grocery stores, we couldn’t do it. It takes everyone pulling together. I couldn’t do it myself. I live on a fixed income and there is just no way. If it wasn’t for people donating money we wouldn’t be able to pay the rent, electric, phone or gas bills.”
The pantry is currently low on monetary donations and is in need of canned foods.
“If God touches your heart to donate, whether it’s monetary or food, do it,” White said. “People can come up here and see exactly what’s going on and what it takes. When you open these doors, the food goes right back out. Our shelves are normally packed — and [now] they are not.”
Robert Arndt began serving the pantry as part of his community service but loves volunteering at the pantry.
“I have lived on the streets and have needed help before, so I know what it’s like to need help, and I know what it’s like to give help,” Arndt said. “It’s much more rewarding to give than to always get. Volunteering is really rewarding, and it has opened up a part of me that I never knew existed.”
Heather Rogers is another God’s Food Pantry volunteer who appreciates the giving heart of pantry owners Linda and Michael White.
“I just believe this one is very special because we don’t require anyone to have anything,” Rogers said. “It’s very seldom that we have to turn anyone away.”
Rogers said there is a vast demographic of people who visit the pantry, but all have one thing in common: the need for food.
“There are a lot of families who fall on hard times that don’t want to have to come to these types of places,” Rogers said. “On top of that, if you come in and have to provide your financial information and get turned away because you make a penny too much, or something like that, that’s one reason I chose to volunteer here — because we don’t turn people away.”
Rogers said the pantry only requires an I.D., and as long as the pantry has food, clients will be helped.
The pantry is preparing for its Thanksgiving boxes but will be in need of donations for Christmas. Monetary and food donations are accepted and White said the greatest need at the moment is canned goods.
Clients are asked to provide basic information so the pantry can track the amount of people served. They have no prerequisites and no income requirements. The pantry is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday but is closed on Fridays. For information visit godsfoodpantry.com.
Minnie’s Food Pantry
During the holidays, the needs of others become more apparent and the desire to help grows stronger. Although during last year’s holiday season, the roof collapsed on Minnie’s Food Pantry, ruining everything. This year, pantry founder Cheryl Jackson is expanding her operation and taking over a new building with a new attitude.
Jackson has aspirations to turn Minnie’s into the mega-food pantry of Plano by not only helping feed the hungry, but by giving them a choice.
“We don’t want to hand them a box of food, we want to give them a choice,” she said. “We are a client-choice pantry, meaning we allow clients to come in and shop our shelves. Through our partnership with the North Texas Food Bank, Market Street and Wal-Mart, we are able to do that. When customers come in, we give them a basket and they have a choice.”
Jackson said the pantry was birthed out of her pain and the pantry is named after her mother.
“After my father passed away, I wanted do something to show my mom the impact my family had on my life, and this was the best way to do it,” she said. “Not only that, my friends and family help me run this, and it is really a community-run pantry.”
Jackson has seen the pantry grow from feeding 15 to 20 families a month to now feeding more than 2,000 to 3,000 people a month.
“We take pride in our volunteers and how we serve; we serve in excellence,” she said.
The pantry will be opening its new location, which is double the size of its current location, because “that is the demand and need of the community,” Jackson said.
The pantry will be including evening hours from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday nights to give clients one day out of the week to do shopping as well. Jackson said the hours were to accommodate the working clients who may not be able to come during the day.
Looking forward to the Christmas holiday, Jackson said the pantry is in need of monetary donations.
“Not only will we be giving out food, but toys as well,” she said. “We need monetary donations because we can buy from the food pantry and almost quadruple the dollar amount spent. We are spending donation money wisely, but the need has doubled. We rely on faith and say it will happen and God has never failed us.”
Minnie’s Food Pantry provides a free supply of emergency groceries once every two weeks per household for residents who do not have enough food or resources to purchase it.
According to its website, clients must provide a valid identification card and a utility bill in their name. They must complete a one-page confidential form that helps the food pantry track its resources. For information visit thegivingmovement.org/minniesplace.
Seven Loaves
Janet Collinsworth and Sharon Hasley are the dynamic duo who brainstormed after a St. Andrew United Methodist Church concert and came up with the idea for a four-part plan to help the needy in Collin County.
“There was a concert benefiting the North Texas Food Bank held at the church in November 2008 and the CEO got up and made a five-minute speech about the plight of hunger,” Hasley said. “Their goal was to double their distribution to over 52 million meals from 26 million. I talked to her afterward and she said she needed a distribution point in Collin County so I asked her what we could do and she said, ‘Open a pantry.’ I talked to Janet and she said, ‘Ok, let’s do it.’”
So the two put together a business plan that included a 10-year plan.
“I thought, well, if they need food they need other services and we thought it was going to take us until year 10 before we could include health care — that was the most daunting because it required opening a clinic. Within the second year we opened the clothing portion; we received a grant for the social services and opened the social services portion. But the miracle part was the Collin County Adult Clinic asking us to partner with them in opening a clinic on the west side. So with Texas Health Resources, the Collin County Adult Clinic and us, we opened a clinic this October.”
The pantry serves Collin County and all residents within a five-mile radius of St. Andrew United Methodist Church. Currently, Seven Loaves is preparing for the holiday season by accepting donations, whether monetary, clothing or food; all donations are needed to help make the holiday season a bright one for those in need.
The demographic seen by Seven Loaves is vast, Collinsworth said.
“The demographic ranges from the newly unemployed person — whether blue collar or white — the day worker, college kids, the homeless and the working poor,” she said.
But no matter the client, Collinsworth said the pantry is there to help.
“There is an income limit, but with the families we serve, there is no doubt,” Collinsworth said. “We don’t judge. There might be people who have just been laid off but drive up in a fancy car, but they also might be about to lose that car.”
The pantry usually sees about 1,000 people a month, but due to the economy, volunteers are seeing an increase of clients.
Collinsworth said the next big project will be fundraising, because the needs have exceeded anticipated volumes.
“We thought we would be serving 75 families a month, and we now do over that in a week,” she said.
Seven Loaves serves those who reside in a Collin County ZIP code or within a five-mile radius of the church. It is open from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. For information visit 7loavescommunity.org.
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