In April 2016, the food pantry at Holy Spirit Church in Verona opened its doors to support families in need in Verona and the surrounding communities. That first month, the pantry served 18 households.
Since then, the Holy Spirit Food Pantry operation has grown substantially. Even during the pandemic, the food pantry remained open, distributing pre-packaged bags of groceries, household products, and pet food via a drive-through that lasted until March of this year. The pantry currently supports over 120 households each month, including local home deliveries).
Much of the inventory for the food pantry is dropped off in the 24-hour donations bin outside the church. Also, many organizations undertake food collections and food for the pantry. Kings Supermarket in Verona continues to provide the largest volume of ongoing inventory donations thanks to the pre-packaged bags purchased by Kings’ patrons.
But just as critical to the food pantry’s operations are monetary donations, needed to purchase supplemental inventory, particularly things like paper goods, personal care items and cleaning products. Over the past few years as the number of pantry clients grew, the pantry has spent more and more money on inventory. Without the financial support of donors, the pantry would not be able to maintain supplies of needed items.
This summer, there is an opportunity to support the Holy Spirit Food Pantry financially. The Heavenly Finds Thrift Shop, a sister ministry of Church of the Holy Spirit, has offered to match all monetary donations made to the food pantry this summer up to $5,000. This means that by September, the pantry could have up to $10,000 on hand to purchase inventory.
Please consider a donation to the Holy Spirit Food Pantry. Funds may be donated by check, or via the Holy Spirit website, or through Venmo (Holy Spirit Verona @Jerry-Racioppi-2 [6663]). Please indicate “Food Pantry” in either the memo line or comment section.
