A Touch of the Father’s Love food pantry has an urgent need for more canned goods and a home of its own.
“We are getting really low on canned goods and have a great opportunity to purchase some at really low prices over the next few weeks,” said April Baker, executive director of the food pantry ministry.
Baker said the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is offering canned goods donated during the N.C. State Fair to local food banks and other approved no-profits for 19 cents a pound during the month of November or until supplies run out.
“With a $190 gift, we can buy 1,000 pounds of food,” Baker said.
The food pantry is located at 200 W. Battleboro Ave. in the Battleboro community. The pantry, which is run on a shoestring budget with the help of volunteers, collects food on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and holds food distributions from 9 to 10 a.m. on Wednesdays and from 8:30 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays.
In addition to the need for more canned goods, the ministry is outgrowing its operational space, which is being loaned to them by a patron who needs to reclaim his space.
“The owner of this property has been extremely patient, but we need more space and we need to allow him to take back this space,” Baker said.
Baker said the organization has found a perfect 6,000-square-foot space that is more centrally located. The asking price of the facility is $291,000.
“Right now, we are having to turn away some refrigerated food donations because we don’t have the space and we don’t have enough refrigerators and freezers,” she said. “We could help so many more people if we had a more suitable site.”
The pantry served 76,956 people last year through food donations, Baker said.
“We just need a place to call home,” Baker said.
For now, the organization is in immediate need of canned goods or funds to purchase the canned goods at the reduced rate and to purchase the new facility. Volunteers also are always needed, Baker said.
For more information about A Touch of the Father’s Love, go to organization’s Facebook page to watch a video about the operation produced by Nash Community College. To arrange for donations, call Baker at 252-377-2209. Donations are tax deductible.
“We can all make a difference in the lives of so many children, seniors, veterans and families that struggle to put food on the table,” Baker said.
