A Day at the Food Pantry

How grateful I am to write and thank CAP's supporters for their caring support of the people in need in Appalachia.

I want to talk about how our donor's generosity is delivering emergency food and sharing Christ’s love by sharing what a day is like here at the Grateful Bread Food Pantry where I work.

We arrive at Grateful Bread at 8:00 a.m. We keep our distance, but we are committed to starting our day in prayer. We give thanks to God for letting us continue to help during this pandemic, we ask Him for strength, and we thank God for friends like you.

Then the work starts.

At 9:00 a.m., the doors open. Before the virus, families would come in, choose their food, and we could spend time listening and comforting them. Now, for everyone’s safety, they must stay in their cars and we bring them a box of food while wearing a mask and gloves.

We can’t give the people we care about so much a handshake or a hug — when that’s what we all need most.

The next hours are very busy filling requests from participants, restocking shelves, and praying for more food to come our way.

A call comes in from a family pleading for extra food. Between layoffs and children home from school, they ran out of provisions early. In a normal month, we might have four calls like this.

In March, we had dozens more requests for emergency food.

This means even more deliveries to families and seniors. You see, people are in really bad shape. Many don’t have the money to buy a little gas to come pick up the food they need.

Through your generosity and God’s mercy, we’re able to help feed them. So far.

At 3:15 p.m., our doors close, and we start preparing for the next day.

Every day we worry — when will this end? How long can we keep our shelves stocked? Will there be a day when we’re forced to close our doors and turn away people that we love like family?

Who will help them then?

CAP's supporters and donors are the reason we can keep going day after day, and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. Please continue to pray for the people in need in Appalachia and send any support you can.

You will be in our prayers again tomorrow as we start all over again.

Through His love all things are possible,

Sherri Barnett