Six years ago, Rachel Ayers was running a soup kitchen in Johnston County when Elizabeth Rodgers, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s Community Engagement Manager, approached her about starting up a Mobile Market in the county. For Rachel to focus her time and energy on the Mobile Market, she would have to end her time with the soup kitchen. The Johnston County Mobile Market, held on the second Thursday of each month at Temple Baptist Church in Selma, has been going strong for six years now and is a blessing for the people who get groceries, produce, meat and baked goods there. But, folks in the county need the option to fill their pantries more than just one time per month, and when the Food Shuttle started looking at opening a food pantry in the area, Elizabeth Rodgers knew just who to approach to get the project up and running. That’s how Rachel Ayers came on board as the founder of the new Food Shuttle pantry partner Helping and Healing Hearts, Inc., which opened its doors in September.
Helping and Healing Hearts, Inc. offers Johnston County residents the opportunity to get free non-perishable and perishable food items once every 30 days. Thanks to grant funding, residents of the county can also apply for assistance with rent and utilities. Applications are available at the pantry, located at 804 E. Market St. in Smithfield, NC 27577. The pantry is open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome.
The pantry opened to a steady stream of clients, and traffic continues to grow as word spreads about its availability to the community. Rachel has a lot of great ideas for Helping and Healing Hearts, Inc. and is already planning to have turkeys on hand to give out come Thanksgiving.
Elizabeth Rodgers knows how fortunate the Food Shuttle is to have Rachel Ayers working with the organization. “Rachel is an earthly guardian angel, showering people with God’s love through food, rent and utility assistance. She’s a very caring person.”
For a list of all Food Shuttle pantry partners, click here.