Years ago, the Emmaus Mission Center’s food pantry consisted of a couple shelves bolted to a wall at its homeless shelter.
It later grew into space at the center’s thrift store on Logansport’s north side. Today, efforts continue on what will be an entire building dedicated to stemming hunger in the community.
Jim and Mary Jane Hayden donated their property at 19 W. Richardville St. to the Emmaus Mission Center in December 2016. It’s about a block east down Water Street from the food pantry’s current location at 1203 College St. Online Cass County property records indicate the future food pantry building is over 8,200 square feet. The current food pantry spans a sliver of the thrift store property, which all together amounts to 9,650 square feet.
Jason Mitchell, executive director of the Emmaus Mission Center, said the food pantry gets about 159 tons of food donated per year. It receives donations from restaurants, grocery stores, churches and schools and buys provisions from food banks at reduced prices.
Mitchell said the food pantry has operated for about the past 15 years. It served over 400 families in February, about 600 in march and recently logged its 2,228th family.
Food currently has to be delivered through a standard door and into the pantry’s small waiting area, forcing cold air in during winters and creating obstacles to navigate around, Mitchell said.
A wall will separate the new food pantry’s waiting area from the bay door for deliveries, which will lead to a passage to a large storage area. Mitchell said the waiting area will have a desk different organizations will be able to occupy offering pantry visitors resources like Head Start, diabetes awareness, food stamps, employment assistance and nutrition services.
“While they’re waiting here they have a lot of resources they could possibly get,” Mitchell said. “It’s not just going to be about feeding people, it’s going to be about creating links with area organizations that can help and also trying to get them out of the situation they’re in.”
Mitchell also said the pantry will track data on how often visitors are returning to the pantry and how those offered resources affect their return visits.
Most of the building’s heating, electric and drywall work has been completed, Mitchell said. Walls are already lined with refrigerators.
The new location will have a food separation room equipped with stainless steel sinks and cabinets, Mitchell said. It will provide a sanitary environment for thawing and splitting up frozen food along with separating bulk items into family-size portions.
Mitchell said the organization also intends to create office space for counseling along with a break room for staff and volunteers.
The building still needs to be re-roofed, Mitchell said. A contractor donated drop ceiling material acquired during a demolition job. Mitchell estimated the Emmaus Mission Center has put about $20,000 into the project and will likely need another $10,000 to $15,000 to get the new pantry up and running. Those interested in donating to the project can do so at logan-emmaus.org or send checks to the center’s location at 805 Spencer St. in Logansport.
Mitchell said the new pantry may open this year or early next year. When it does, the thrift store will extend into the current pantry’s space.
It’s exciting to see the organization’s hunger-fighting efforts grow from those shelves on a wall at the shelter to the new building it will become, he said.
“It’s going to be an amazing thing to move into,” Mitchell added.
Reach Mitchell Kirk at mitchell.kirk@pharostribune.com or 574-732-5130
WANT TO HELP?
Those interested in donating to the Emmaus Mission Center’s new food pantry project can do so at logan-emmaus.org or send checks to the center’s location at 805 Spencer St., Logansport, IN 46947.
