On March 15, 2015, Members of the High Street Baptist Church Food Pantry Ministry (FPM) were honored during the church’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards Program. Rev. Serenus Churn, Jr. presented the group with a beautiful plaque as part of this Friends and Family Night celebration. Mrs. Peggy Sue Mason gave the audience the history of the Food Pantry as it has evolved in the church through the years.
The concept for the Food Pantry was introduced to the congregation in 1973 by the late Dr. Noel C. Taylor and the late A. Lorraine Johnson who were pastor and Sunday School superintendent respectively at that time. The Ministry began a room in the newly built church on Florida Ave. and named, the “Daily Bread.” Members of the congregation collected canned and non-perishable goods for the annual distribution of Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets with individuals donating the hams and turkeys included in them. The ladies of the Senior League, in partnership with the Youth Department in the Sunday School, expanded these holiday efforts and began to hold food drives to encourage members to donate food to the Daily Bread pantry year-round. Quarterly goals were set and (with God’s blessings) the shelves of the pantry were never empty.
About ten years ago, The Ladies of the Senior League expanded the Food Pantry Ministry by collecting gallon-sized cans of food to be used at several local community organizations providing hot meals to those in need. Since that time the FPM has donated more than 1,100 gallon cans of food to the Samaritan Inn to help continue their efforts to do God’s work through nourishing and caring for others. Once each year, a group of FPM members works at the local post office to help sort the cans of food collected in the Post Office’s Annual Food Drive. These members receive a portion of the USPS donated food to fill the church pantry in appreciation of their assistance.
The Food Pantry Ministry continues to receive food donations weekly from church members and local organizations that makes it possible to distribute between 15 and 20 baskets of food to those in our community who need a helping hand especially during holiday seasons. In 2013, through the combined efforts of the Ladies of the Senior League and their partners, the Sunday School youth, the Food Pantry Ministry also began to include Christmas cards and inspirational readings in each of the boxes during the month of December.
FPM members continue to receive and deeply appreciate the support from all who have and continue to donate canned goods, monetary gifts, holiday cards and to provide the loving support needed to keep the High Street Food Pantry Ministry strong.
