The shelves are full at Western Wake Crisis Ministry Food Pantry in Apex, NC these days. That’s thanks to a grant from the sixth annual Food Lion Feeds Great Pantry Makeover pantry restock. Food Lion recognizes the importance of keeping the shelves of feeding agencies across their ten-state footprint stocked and has committed to provide them with nutritious food that will help nourish neighbors in need.
Western Wake Crisis Ministry (WWCM) Food Pantry is a partner agency of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. At WWCM, area residents can shop for free according to their specific dietary needs. WWCM also provides nutritionally-balanced food boxes on a weekly basis. Pantry items include meats, fresh produce, canned goods, dairy/deli products, pasta, peanut butter, cereal, personal hygiene items, and more.
WWCM opened as a choice pantry where clients got to choose the items they took home to feed their families, but due to restrictions brought about by COVID-19, the option of choice has become severely limited. This presented a major problem for WWCM because choice is one of the agency’s core values, along with compassion, relationship, and equity. “To get to choose the food you eat—there is dignity in that. Choice is at the root of the dignity of what we do,” said Beth Bordeaux, Executive Director of Western Wake Crisis Ministry. When asked about the impact of the Food Lion pantry restock, Bordeaux is effusive: “Our shelves are in desperate need of restocking, so this is perfect!”
The Food Lion Feeds Great Pantry Makeover pantry restocks are taking place throughout the months of September and October as a part of Food Lions Faces of Hope and the Helpers program. Recipients receive a sizeable donation of non-perishable food as well as $800 in Food Lion gift cards. Local Food Lion associate volunteers stop by to lend a hand stocking the shelves with the new food supplies. Two other Food Shuttle partner agencies also received pantry restock grants: the AME Church Empowerment Center in Raleigh, and Life Skills Foundation in Durham.