The mobile food pantry of the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri opened its doors at its new, more centralized location Wednesday.
The mobile pantry will park its refrigerated truck in the parking lot of the Health Department for its monthly stop in Columbia.
The mobile pantry previously operated out of Indian Hills Park in northeast Columbia. The truck’s refrigeration capabilities allow the Food Bank to provide healthy and perishable grocery options to the community, unlike traditional food pantries.
“Most of our mobiles are going to communities that don’t have brick-and-mortar pantries,” said Janese Heavin, communications coordinator for the Food Bank. “These trucks let us distribute produce, protein, dairy directly to people in need.”
The process is fairly simple. Everyone who shows up is given food based on the number of people in their household. The variety of groceries available included empanadas, peaches and potatoes.
Community member Jimmy Hayes said he felt the location change wouldn’t affect turnout.
“Anywhere it is, if they really need it, they’ll make it there,” Hayes said. “They’ll find a way to get there.”
Heavin said the mobile pantry used to serve between 80 to 100 households at Indian Hills Park. The new location had a turnout of more than 80 households Wednesday.
Ryan Eberhardt, a volunteer at the Food Bank, said he felt the mobile pantry is important in supporting communities in need.
“We live in the United States of America, and nobody should be homeless and without food,” he said. “Any help is better than no help, and really, that’s just how I look at life.”
Eric Stann, community relations specialist for the Public Health and Human Services Department, also emphasized the mobile food pantry’s positive impact.
“Access to healthy food is important for the health of our families here in Columbia and Boone County,” Stann said.
He also said he hoped the Health Department’s central location would make it easier for people to visit the mobile pantry.
The mobile pantry program provides convenient and healthy groceries for those reliant on the Food Bank. One in six people struggles with hunger in Missouri, according to data from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap 2015.
The mobile food pantry has a fleet of three trucks that make 14 stops a month across a 32-county service area. It will continue to stop from 4 to 6 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month in Columbia.
