Clark County Area Food Pantry and Resource Center Set to Open in April
Friday, March 13th, 2015 -- 9:31 AM
-The mission of the Clark County Area Food Pantry and Resource Center (CCAFPRC) began with one woman's desire to serve the disadvantaged families in Neillsville and beyond.Judy Morrow is no stranger to helping people in need. She was instrumental in the founding of the first Love, Inc. food pantry and thrift store in Burlington, Wisconsin in 1984, and she has carried her kindness and compassion on her journey to the center of the state where she now resides. Through her experiences in working with many community non-profit organizations, it was Judy who shined a spotlight on the overwhelming number of disadvantaged people in the community and the lack of resources to address their needs, and the mission to establish a food pantry was born.
There are some misconceptions regarding the availability of food resources in Neillsville. For many years, Jody Conner has acted as director of an emergency food pantry located in the Workforce Resource office (aka Job Center) downtown with members of the Neillsville Ministerial Alliance serving as its board of directors. The concept behind an emergency food pantry is to serve individuals and families through a one-time distribution of food. Although this service is extremely important to address an immediate need, the office is not equipped to handle ongoing support.
A second food resource is located in the Clark County Aging Office, where Mary Sladich oversees distribution of food to a specific demographic; the elderly population. And a quarterly free food distribution is coordinated by Living Hope Evangelical Free Church through the Feed My People organization and is held at the Clark County Fairgrounds.
Once word of the CCAFPRC mission spread throughout the community, other organizations stepped forward to offer support. Local business owner Scott Havlicek was happy to assist by renting his building at 140 West Fifth Street to the CCAFPRC. The Matthew 25 Neighbors in Need grant committee, organized by Calvary Lutheran Church, has pledged its support to get the pantry up and running through funds they have raised from many generous donors including the Thrivent Foundation and the Clark County Community Foundation. Steps are being taken to merge the resources from the current emergency food pantry with the CCAFPRC. Additional food items would be derived from local food drives and individual donations, as well as purchased through the Feed My People organization.
The first phase of the mission is to address the immediate, ongoing food needs of disadvantaged individuals and families. CCAFPRC will help to alleviate the burden that was placed on smaller pantries in surrounding communities when the previous Neillsville facility closed. The CCAFPRC Board of Directors has been formed and will be formally adopting bylaws and standard operating procedures. Preliminary plans are for the pantry to be open two days per week with a phone number posted for emergencies. Once staffing levels are established, hours could be extended.
After CCAFPRC has been firmly established, additional services will be added through partnerships with other local organizations that currently support the disadvantaged and have pledged to work in a true collaborative effort to address the plight of those in need such as UW-Extension, the Eat Right Be Fit Coalition, and the Clark County Food Resource Group. The ultimate goal is to provide caring and compassionate support to those in need, assisting them to develop self-sufficiency, realize their full potential, and eliminate their dependence on outside resources.
One of the keys to the success of CCAFPRC will be its volunteers. An informational meeting and volunteer sign up will be held on Monday, March 23rd at 7:00 p.m. in the "Pit" at Neillsville Middle School. Clean up days at the pantry building have been scheduled for Saturday, March 21st and Saturday, March 28th starting at 9:00 a.m. Feel free to contact Judy Morrow with questions at 715-743-2885.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.