The Isaiah 23 Food Pantry

isaiah 23 food pantry

Update on the Food Pantry for June 2023

Originally when we started donating to the pantry, we were able to get items at a very discounted price (see video below) because of the location of the store and the fact that it was not visited by many people.  Needless to say, with how the economy is going they had to close that store.  It was a very sad thing for me because I had become so close to the staff that worked there.  The manager has moved on to another job at another company and the other store employees moved to another location for the same chain of stores.

I now visit this new store, but you should know that because it is on a main road, the same discounts do not exist at this location.  So the items are pretty much the regular store prices.  We are still purchasing items but just not at the volume we were able to do since September of last year.  We are purchasing much less now based on the budget.

If you feel led to donate to the pantry, please use the link is below.

 

Update on the Food Pantry March 2023

This is the first quarter of 2023 update for the food pantry.

January there were 189 persons that came through the pantry collecting food for their family members which equated to 355 individual family members.

February 221 persons, 466 family members

March 210 persons, 483 family members

Again, to help you understand this, not every family member walks into the pantry doors perhaps only one or two persons will show up but the food they collect is actually feeding a lot more than the one or two persons that showed up.

Total for the 1st quarter of the 2023 is 620 persons, and they fed 1,304 individuals

You can support the pantry by donating here 

Update on the Food Pantry – February 2023

We started donating food in October 2022.

From October 2022 – December 2022: 413 Families were fed and clothe. This equates to 969 Individuals. Thank you for supporting this cause.

 


Yes, a food pantry!  Let me first tell you about the story of how this all started.

I went into a large supermarket chain (I am not at liberty to say which one) and being my usual friendly self of talking to everyone, I started talking to the store manager.  She expressed to me that there were less and less people coming in to shop because of the economy.

People cannot afford to buy food anymore.

She said as a result they have many items that are going out of date and expiring.  I asked her which non-profit organization her chain was giving their items to.  She informed me that since the new owners took over, which happened back when the pandemic started, the owner did not sign the proper paperwork to donate the items to a charity.  Therefore, all the food was being thrown into the trash…on a daily basis.

I cried.  I just couldn’t imagine that in this day and age when there are so many people struggling to feed their families, the food was going in the trash every day.  She said some days even more than others.  Then she started crying too and she said that there was nothing she could do about it because they never signed the paperwork to do this.  I think it is a liability issue.

She said she has to pretend she doesn’t see the people going through the dumpster everyday scrounging for food.  I know that some of you who don’t live in the USA cannot imagine that there are people living in the United States eating out of the trash can.  But, it is true.  Just as for some Americans when they hear the word Africa what they imagine is the starving children with flies on their face not realizing that there is a lot of affluence and wealth in Africa too.

So, yes!  There are people starving in the USA.  Anyway, I asked her what the process was before they discard items.  She said first they put it all on Clearance where it is sold for 50% off but if it doesn’t get sold on Clearance then it is in the trash.  Then I said to her, what if I come in and buy everything you have before you throw it in the dumpster? She said she would sell it to me at a heavily discounted price because she would rather sell it to me and know that people are getting fed than throw it out.  Besides the store would rather make $0.20 on a can of peas than $0.  We walked to the meat department where she showed the stacks of chicken breast, tenderloins and legs which she said she was sure would all be in the trash by tomorrow.  Based on sales for the past month she won’t be selling all of it before the store closes.  It’s all going in the trash.

Well, God, in His wisdom, just directed me to buy it and then give it to a church food pantry.

So, MOP buys the food and gives it to an already established pantry in a church.  I already have a church selected with a pantry that has refrigerators and freezers to store items. This is to start with.  It is the fastest and easiest way for us to do this as quickly as possible.

For those of you not familiar with a food pantry in a church, it is like a grocery store except you get everything for free.  You get a bag of groceries depending on the size of your family for free.  I am doing this through a church pantry because the church prays with each person coming in for help and also shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them, so people are getting saved through this.

This is a wealth transfer.  For me? No.  For MOP? No.  It’s for the people in the church.

How do you spell JOY?

And, for sure this is Isaiah 23.  God is moving fast! And it just goes to show you that you don’t even have to look for the opportunities, He will put it right in front of you.  I never thought of asking them about this before.  I remember when the store changed hands because I saw all the remodeling happening.  The truth is, it wasn’t time.  Because as you know from reading Isaiah 23, the monarch has to die after 70 years of service before it could leave the heavenlies and head into the earth realm.  Things like these are going to pop off everywhere!!!  Open your eyes and look.  The opportunities are going to be all around you. We just need to spot it when it appears and put our hands to it.

What started out in tears for both of us ended in hope.

All I need from you is your commitment to join us in donating to the pantry. I’ll provide you with updates from time to time on how this is all going.  We will buy as much as we can each time.

Thanking you in advance for donating and helping others who are in need.

Blessings

3 thoughts on “The Isaiah 23 Food Pantry”

  1. God put this on my heart months ago. A shop in the church, where people in need can come and buy things without money. Oh God is an awesome God. Thank you God 🙏🏾

    1. Hi Ola Boni, that is different because that would be like having a grocery store in church. What we are doing is buying it for a lot less money and giving it away at a pantry in the church. The people are getting it for free. Thank you for saying this though because perhaps I wasn’t clear about that. I will edit the post to be sure it reflects that.

  2. I was reading our newspaper and our local food pantry asked for donations and I had decided to donate as I was looking for a local charity. After reading this I know finding the food pantry is exactly what I was guided to do. I love when God does that.

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