The Webster County Missouri Farm Bureau gave a $500 check to the Webster County Pantry Wednesday, Feb. 7, in support of the nonprofit organization, which distributes food, clothes and other items to those less fortunate.
William Linder, president of the Webster County Missouri Farm Bureau, and vice president Gary Letterman, presented the check to Jerry Nehl, director of operations for the pantry.
“We wanted to give to the Webster County Pantry because it is a great organization,” said Linder. “We also wanted to promote it and let the community know how big of a need there is for families in Webster County.”
The pantry serves approximately 250 families per month, according to Nehl, who has worked there for 26 years. He picks up food from various locations, along with many school, church and local organizations that have can drives and fundraising events. To keep food from being wasted, he collects leftovers every week from companies, such as Panera Bread, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Price Cutter.
“Americans throw away 25 percent of our food,” said Nehl. “I work on the other end of it. We pick up food from Panera Bread because it is one of the companies that will donate everything they have at the end of the day. They will not throw it in the trash. On Wednesdays, we pick up all five stores, every day except for Saturday, which we use to pick up food from the deli and bakery at Price Cutter. About three years ago, Kentucky Fried Chicken decided to get on board. At the end of every day, they freeze whatever chicken they have left and I pick it up twice a week.”
In addition to collecting food, Nehl delivers meals to homebound residents at Massey Park Apartments and Webco Manor in Marshfield. About 10 to 15 volunteers will come on Fridays and Saturdays to help organize and sort the food, along with arranging the meal menus for families. To stay up to date with the pantry, community members can visit the new Facebook page created by Natasha Dunagan. She volunteered at the pantry for a few years with her oldest son, Branden, and was eager to help with the project, after Nehl and volunteers Betty Funk and Shawn Jester told her about their need to publicize unique items for sale at the pantry's thrift store.
“The pantry has been there a long time and since they recently started making the thrift store open to everybody, not just those in need, I feel like people should know about it," said Dunagan. "Betty Funk said she had a lot of people come out since they saw the Facebook page and say they did not know it was even there. Since I work on Fridays, I plan to go to the pantry on the Saturdays they are open and take pictures whenever Betty has something new to sell."
New items at the thrift store will be posted on the Webster County Food Pantry & Thrift Store Facebook page. The pantry is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. the first and third Saturdays of every month and from 9 a.m. to noon the following Fridays.
