In 1953 a small church opened its doors for the first time at a small church building at 311 Center Street. It was called Love Chapel and was very ambitious about reaching the east side of Columbus. They hosted Scout Clubs, Vacation Bible Schools and even offered free back to school physicals and shots. As they had families come into the church, they realized that many families struggled to put food on the table, so they began giving each family a small bag with a few canned goods in it – the very first food pantry.
In 1967 a group of churches banded together to make a bigger difference in our community by pooling resources and finding ways to help others. This organization was formed and named the Ecumenical Assembly of Bartholomew County Churches, Inc. They needed a place to meet, and the church Love Chapel offered them space to meet.
The two organizations co-existed for many years, but in 1973, the church ran out of funds. They offered the building at 311 Center Street to the Ecumenical Assembly with one condition – that they continue to distribute food. Therefore, the food pantry was called Love Chapel and the name is now applied to the entire organization.
The topic for today’s article will focus on our Food Pantry and how it works. Currently Love Chapel serves 1,500 families (nearly 6,000 people) with a monthly food visit. Each client gets around 7 – 10 days of food to supplement any other benefits they receive and stretch their dollars. This is a sample list of what a visit entails – it does vary. Usually three frozen meat products, 2 canned meat products, cereal, peanut butter, six cans of vegetables, pasta and sauce, dry rice and beans, stews or meals like Hamburger Helper, Meal in a Bag, etc.
After that, the client receives fresh vegetables and fruit, milk, eggs, bread, a variety of desserts, and a variety of other items donated, if available. Some items are provided based on different size families.
The other key factor is that the clients are asked for any type of allergies, likes, dis-likes, etc. To tailor the groceries to what they would eat. We also try to stock several items which are enjoyed by our Spanish speaking clients, and we even have a small Hallal corner for our middle eastern clients. A client can then come back weekly to receive fresh bread and produce.
All told, Love Chapel distributed 2.2 million pounds of food in 2023 and will likely eclipse that mark this year. In my next article, I hope to outline how this is accomplished and talk about our Mobile Outreach pantries! For now, God bless!
