PAULDING – After over forty years of serving the hungry of Paulding
County, the Caring and Sharing Food Pantry is finally closing in on a
home of its own.
The pantry purchased land on Walnut Street here
in Paulding, and it plans on constructing a 3,900-square-foot building
on the property. The new building will provide the pantry with a larger
shopping area, a larger storeroom, a check-in area that will provide
privacy to clients, a large overhead door and loading area to simplify
receiving deliveries, and client enrichment space. In the future, the
pantry plans on investing in a walk-in freezer.
Currently, the
pantry rents space from the Carnegie Library of Paulding County, in an
old doctor’s office next to the main branch. Before that, it operated in
the basement of the rectory of what was St. Joseph Catholic Church.
According
to the pantry’s executive director Jodi Schneider a building of its own
has been in the works for quite some time, “The library is not pushing
us out or anything, but we have grown to the point that we have outgrown
the space.”
Preliminary quotes priced the new building cost at $525,000, but those costs likely went up with inflation.
St.
Paul Lutheran Church in Paulding has partnered with the pantry on the
building project, and after seeing numerous building projects put on
hold during COVID, the church wanted to do something to get the new
pantry “kicked into gear again,” said church member Sue Beck. “So, I
kept thinking and thinking. I thought, why don’t we do a community
concert.”
Beck, Laurie Barnes, who sits on the board of the
pantry, Renee Boss and Cindy Kauser organized the concert for the first
Sunday in April.
“We had a packed church. You probably couldn’t
seat another dozen people,” added Beck. “It was just packed, and we had a
wonderful turnout for people that volunteered to be in the program.”
Over
thirty people joined the mass choir, and prior to the concert, a
dessert bar offered the concertgoers treats to enjoy. “People just kept
bringing desserts, and it was a really big hit,” said Beck.
Halfway
through the planning, the committee got more good news. An anonymous
donor pledged to match what was raised at the concert. Another major
donor was the Paulding County Hospital. In the end, the concert raised
$47,000 and with the matching donation, $94,000 was raised for the food
bank’s new building.
“We were blown away; we just couldn’t believe it,” said Beck.
The
event was so successful that organizers are holding it again this year,
with the hopes it will move them across the finish line of their
fundraising goal.
Currently, it’s raised $470,000 of the construction costs.
This
year’s event will be held on Sunday, March 26, 2023. The open dessert
bar and refreshments will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the concert following
at 6 p.m.
“We’re opening [the mass choir] will be even bigger this year,” said Beck.
All
the money raised at the community concert goes directly to the building
fund. The committee also stresses that volunteers with the concert are
important too.
“Singers are needed for the mass choir,” echoed
Beck. “Anyone interested can contact any of us on the committee or even
reach out to Jodi, and she will get the word to us.”
According to
the pantry, it’s more important than ever they get the building
constructed because after COVID saw a decline in the number of people
using the pantry, it’s since seen an uptick in use. In 2021, the pantry
served 1,055 families. In 2022, that number grew to 1745.
Residents
and families below the 200th percentile of the poverty line are allowed
to use the pantry twice a month, and they are given enough food to last
three days per visit. The pantry is set up similarly to a grocery
store, where they are allowed to pick out items.
Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, those families will be able to visit a new building the pantry can call its own.