Food pantry helps to stave off hunger

Chances are Dennis Schultz will be sleeping outdoors tonight. The 60-year-old said he’s been homeless for 20 years.

“I lose everything periodically, to due process of law,” he confided.

But thanks to the Serve Spokane Food Pantry he won’t have to worry about his next meal. Saturday, Schultz loaded his bicycle saddlebags with bread, produce and other staples and said, “It’s the only place I go to get food.”

Located just behind Life Center North Church on Lyons Avenue, the food pantry has been open since July. The pantry is operated by Serve Spokane, an independent nonprofit organization.

“The board of Serve Spokane wanted to do something about the hunger problem in north Spokane County,” said pantry Director Dan Walsh. “We started off targeting the 99208 zip code, but certainly don’t restrict it to that. We even have a family from Airway Heights.”

With the recent closure of St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry, Serve Spokane organizers feel their ministry is more relevant and necessary than ever.

“We are expecting to see an impact,” said Walsh. Life Center North is surrounded by several low-income housing units, making it an ideal spot for those in need to receive help.

Currently, Walsh said they serve 150 people, representing 60 families, each month. A team of energetic, red-aproned volunteers keeps the operation running smoothly.

Saturday folks started lining up shortly before 10 a.m. Their first stop was the registration table. Unlike many food banks, Serve Spokane doesn’t require proof of residency or need. The sign-in is simple – a name, address and number of people in the household.

From there, clients were greeted by a volunteer who took them through the fresh market. On this day, some produce was in short supply, but potatoes and onions were available in abundance. In addition to food, personal hygiene items and cleaning supplies were also available.

A young mother named Yelena shepherded her two small daughters through the pantry. Four-year-old Ina firmly grasped a mop and looked longingly at a bag of chips.

Before clients left the fresh market area, a volunteer asked each one if they had any prayer requests, and offered to pray with them. Bibles and gospel tracts were available for those who wanted them. Co-director Joyce Walsh said, “We want people to know that we’re here because God put us here.”

Fifty-three-year-old volunteer Ira Rash hustled back and forth carrying brimming grocery bags to shopping carts parked by the metal storage unit that houses the bulk of the pantry supplies. He said, “My heart is in serving.”

Kmart donated the shopping carts and Yokes provided the bags. The clients waited by their carts while volunteers inside the storage container gathered the rest of their food. Joyce Walsh invented a rolling table with three sets of pegs on each side to hold the bags while they are filled.

T.V. dinners, frozen breakfast sandwiches, a box of cereal and canned goods were efficiently tossed into the bags. Additional volunteers helped unload the groceries into the clients’ cars. Dan Walsh said, “If folks don’t have cars, we’ll drive them home.”

Serve Spokane is directed by Vinny and Cathy Del Pizzo. The food pantry is just one arm of the ministry that’s designed to reach the community in practical ways. “A little boost can make a lot of difference in people’s lives,” said Cathy Del Pizzo. “We want to express God’s love outside the church doors.”

Other facets of Serve Spokane include a recovery ministry, a program for the disabled and Project Hope – a home-improvement and repair ministry. Del Pizzo said the goal of the food pantry is provide some breathing room in people’s tight budgets. “In a small way, hopefully it releases some of the stress for them.”

Dan Walsh said they get a lot of their supplies from Second Harvest Food Bank. In addition, each week Life Center North members bring enough food to fill a shopping cart in the church lobby. Monetary donations to purchase food are always welcomed.

The pantry is open the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon. Saturday, less than an hour after opening, gaps began appearing in the once burgeoning cupboards inside the storage unit. Joyce Walsh said, “The shelves will be empty by the time we’re done, but God fills them back up.”

Dennis Schultz and the others who depend on the food pantry for basic needs are grateful for those full shelves. As he prepared to pedal back to his campsite in Hillyard, he talked about his outdoor home. “I’d like to plant some rosebushes there,” he said, and then shook his head. “But I can’t.”

For Schultz, roses blooming near the railroad tracks may be out of reach, but because of the Serve Spokane Food Pantry, a full belly will fuel his dreams.