NORTHERN HILLS — The Spearfish Community Pantry, Inc., distributed 250 holiday baskets. The Sturgis Kiwanis Food Pantry distributed 125 Christmas dinner boxes this season. The Lord’s Cupboard in Lead plans to distribute 150. And in Belle Fourche, no less than 78 received help with their holiday meal.
Over the general course of the year, these entities combined serve 860, or nearly 900, families in the Northern Hills.
Food pantries are an integral part of the community and all are thankful for the strong community support they see, not only during the holiday season, but also throughout the year.
George Vansco, president of the Spearfish Community Pantry’s 27-member board of directors, said his agency is bolstered by support throughout the community and serves 280 families in the St. Onge and Spearfish areas, with an uptick in donations come holiday time.
“We receive food donations through Feeding South Dakota, and we also pick up grocery donations on Tuesday and Friday from Walmart,” Vansco said. “We never know how much that will be. It can be from 500 to 1,000 pounds each day. That’s produce, dry goods, bakery items, and meat. It’s really neat, really a blessing. I would venture to say it’s in excess of 50,000 pounds a year.”
Vansco said a great combined community effort also keeps the pantry’s shelves stocked.
“Thirteen churches in the community, along with the Boy Scout and post office annual food drives,” Vansco said. “During harvest, we receive a great deal of produce donations. We also have several service clubs that provide financial donations to the food pantry to handle the expenses. We spend around $3,800 a month on food purchases. Therefore, the Spearfish Community Pantry, Inc., is always in need of financial donations to keep up with the ever-increasing demand in providing nutritional assistance. The food committee watches the local grocery ads and also purchases food from Feeding South Dakota in Rapid City. But one of the greatest donations we have is from the city of Spearfish for the facility we have, for $1 a year, and they pay the heat and lights.”
More than 150 individual volunteers provide service to the pantry year-round.
“It’s surprising. On occasion, I’ve been volunteering down here and someone will come in and give a check for $100 or $200 and say, ‘Eight or nine years ago, I utilized the food pantry because I was really struggling at the time.’ We see that happen at the pantry and it warms our hearts,” Vansco said.
Karen Auchampach of The Lord’s Cupbord in Lead said her agency serves an average of 180 families per month in the communities of Lead, Deadwood, Central City, and the immediate vicinity.
“We use monetary donations to purchase meat, eggs, and perishables, and some canned goods,” Auchampach said. “Non-perishables are provided through collections held throughout the year. We also distribute commodities, which are income-based, but pantry donations are not.”
The Lord’s Cupboard distributed 150 Christmas baskets Thursday, which contained nearly 15 different items, including stuffing, potato mix, vegetables, fruit, milk, bread, a turkey or ham, eggs, brownie mix, pancake mix, syrup, oil, hot chocolate, and gravy.
“The cost of providing the holiday baskets is between $5,000 and $6,000,” Auchampach said. “We receive monies from Central City, Deadwood, and Lead and … typically what we use these funds for is the Christmas baskets.”
Clients at the Lord’s Cupboard receive food distributions once per month, and volunteer Sharon Narem estimated that amounts to around 20 pounds of food.
“We probably spend between $400 and $500 a month on food,” Narem said. “This year, donations have been exceptional. We have a lot of new people coming in, but also a lot leaving, so our numbers stay pretty stable at 180.”
“They’ve probably been that number for about the last four years,” Auchumpach added.
Gordon Kotab, committee chair of the Sturgis Kiwanis Food Pantry, said his agency distributes around 4,500 pounds of food each month to around 250 families with a dedicated group of 25 volunteers.
“Overall, we are about normal, compared to past years,” Kotab said. “When we reach December, historically, we get more donations than normal, and these are monetary. We are very fortunate in the amount of donations we get in food, monetary, and volunteer service. We are really blessed.”
Tuesday, the Sturgis Kiwanis Food Pantry distributed 125 Christmas boxes to needy families in their service area.
“These were provided by the Salvation Army,” Kotab said. “They contain things for making a nice Christmas dinner. We are so blessed in the Sturgis community by the number of donations we get monetarily, with food, and with volunteers. Not just individual donations, but businesses, too. Schools – the elementary has a food drive each year, and individual classes at the high school have contributed with food drives. A lot of businesses. We’re very fortunate to have donations throughout the course of the year. We thank the community for their generous support.”
Pastor Del Neumeister said the Compassion Cupboard in Belle Fourche serves an average of 150 families in the communities of Belle Fourche, Nisland, Fruitdale, Vale, and even into Wyoming and Montana, occasionally. Just one month ago, the shelves were looking pretty empty at the pantry, and Neumeister put out a call to the community for assistance.
“Within 24 hours, I had $2,000 in hand,” Neumeister said. “Since then, we’ve had food drive after food drive. It’s been phenomenal. The Belle Fourche community is so phenomenal, so supportive. It’s been a good difficulty.”
Further, several donors stepped up to help with holiday staples.
“I had a donor come forth and say, ‘Here are 20 gift certificates for turkeys.’ Another donor come forth with funds for 20 turkeys and 20 hams, so that’s 60. Then I had a donor come in to Lynn’s DakotaMart and pay for 18 meals of ham and all the fixings. It’s been a blessing.”
Neumeister said between the $2,000 he spends at local grocery stores and the $1,000 he spends at Feeding South Dakota in Rapid City, monthly expenditures on food for Compassion Cupboard clients easily total $3,000.
“The food goes amazingly quick,” Neumeister said. “Backup stock is very important to us.”
He pointed out that while holidays inspire more donations, help throughout the year is greatly appreciated, as well.
“We have folks that get hungry in July,” Neumeister said. “And we normally do very well, save the pinch we experienced in November, but the community came forth with a marvelous response. We have some wonderfully benevolent folks here in Belle Fourche.”
Donations to all of the entities are always welcome: The Lord’s Cupboard, 111 S. Main St. in Lead is open 9-11:30 a.m. Monday and 3-5:30 p.m. Thursday. It can be reached at 584-3263.
The Spearfish Community Pantry, Inc., located at 131 Yankee St., is open 9 a.m. to noon Monday Wednesday, and Friday and the first and third Mondays of the month from 5-7 p.m. It can be reached at 642-0940.
The Compassion Cupboard, located at 1804 7th Ave. in Belle Fourche is open 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday and 2-6 p.m. Thursday. It can be reached at 660-8371 or 569-1265.
The Sturgis Kiwanis Food Pantry, located in the old Sturgis armory on Main Street is open from 9-11:45 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and requires a voucher from Meade County Housing. It can be reached at 347-3385.
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