Food Pantry helps alleviate hunger pangs

WASILLA -- When people walk through the front doors at the Food Pantry of Wasilla, oftentimes they are at their wits' end, hungry and needing something to eat.

Thursday, a mother with a small child on her hip ducked through the door, looking shy and uncertain. People who come to the Food Pantry don't always know the procedures or how everything works, but they do know the Food Pantry is a place to find help and temporary relief from one of life's most basic needs.

Erika Bills of Palmer worked at the front counter on Thursday afternoon. She is a member of Christ First Methodist Church in Wasilla and volunteers with fellow church members to staff the Food Pantry. Bills' face is often the first one people see when they walk in for help.

"We try to make people feel welcome and not embarrassed, because we all go through tough times," Bills said.

Daryl McRoberts and his wife, Jeane McRoberts, were also volunteering their time Thursday at the Food Pantry.

"We're an emergency food bank," Daryl said. "If someone walks in and says they need a bag of food, we'll give them a bag of food."

The Food Pantry is a coordinated effort by the Valley Christian Conference, a group of nine different Valley churches that provides approximately 70 volunteers to collect, organize, stock and distribute the food.

Other volunteers from outside the Valley Christian Conference also help out. Currently the Food Pantry serves about 700 families and individuals each month out of a tiny building in the parking lot of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Bogard Road in Wasilla.

Over the past couple of years, more people have started using the Food Pantry. A 25-percent increase in each of the last two years has increased the need for more resources and volunteers.

In six months this year the pantry has handed out 4,278 bags of food, an increase of 1,223 bags from the same time last year.

Jeane McRoberts thinks the increased numbers are largely the result of population growth in Mat-Su. Due to limited resources, the Food Bank currently asks people to try not to come more than once a month if possible, but if the need is there they are always welcome back.

"We work hard to deliver help without judgments," Daryl McRoberts said. "We try to treat people with as much dignity as possible. We don't want them to be embarrassed to come here."

Jeane McRoberts thinks the Food Pantry meets an important need in the Valley. The goal of the Food Pantry is to help people get back on their feet during especially difficult times. A single bag of food doesn't solve all their problems, but the hope is that it might be enough to get them over the hump.

"Some people say the Food Pantry only enables people, but 60 percent of our clients use us three times a year or less. This shows us that we are meeting emergency needs," McRoberts said.

Joan Taylor of Wasilla calls herself the "bag lady." She works behind the scenes at the Food Pantry, stocking each bag with bread, chips, cheese, toilet paper and other supplies.

"I just fill them up and pass them out as quick as I can," Taylor said.

Taylor said the Food Pantry has a policy about not preaching to people when they come for help.

"We don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable about coming in here," Taylor said.

Food for the pantry comes from a variety of sources, including Food Bank of Alaska, community food drives, Carrs/Safeway, Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart, Bagels Alaska, Alaska Premium Food Warehouse and individual direct donations. The most pressing need, however, is storage space. Presently, the Food Pantry can only hold about a week's worth of food and it is looking to construct a new building soon. The pantry also needs more volunteer drivers to help pick up food on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The Food Pantry is open for service Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the parking lot of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wasilla, just off Bogard Road next to Wasilla High School.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.