Returning the favor

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: July 15, 2008

The Lord’s Ford Pantry in Eden has given so much to the community that’s it’s time the community returned the favor.
The church that has housed the pantry for several years is faced with rising insurance costs and liability issues, and it must divest itself of the ministry.
Some 75 to 100 volunteers each week staff the pantry, which depends on donations yet distributes food to an estimated 2,000 people each month. No one is turned away, and pantry officials say they will continue to distribute food this week.
We can’t ignore the possibility that people are getting free food when they have the means to actually buy it, which ultimately burdens the volunteers and limits supplies to people who are experiencing real financial emergencies. The pantry should be a stopgap for families – a shelter until the storm passes. It should not, however, be a regular stop for people who want to eat better than their money or current food stocks would allow.
Andrew “Gyp” Collins, who is 81, started the pantry, and his benevolence, faith and commitment to the charity is beyond reproach. But the job is getting harder by the day, as the economy continues to tank and people are sacrificing things such as health insurance to pay for gas. Collins can keep the pantry going, but help is needed.
“Times are getting worse,” he told us. “It’s hard times in this country. People can’t get a job.”
Agencies such as the Salvation Army can help fill the need, but the agency is taxed as well.
A community is made up of people who sacrifice their own wants and needs to help their neighbors, and the pantry needs that help. Surely, a group of churches or other community leaders can work to overcome the liability and insurance issues to ensure the pantry’s continued operation.
A lot of people are praying that the pantry finds a home, and it’s time Rockingham County found a way to answer those prayers.