Community Food Pantry
The community food pantry at Grace Episcopal Church was an Eagle Scout project of parishioner Josephine (Josie) Hall and was completed in early 2022. Josie grew up at Grace Church and wanted her Eagle Scout project to involve giving to those in need in our local community.
Josie’s project proposal included the following narrative and benefit statement “I will be constructing an outdoor community pantry for Grace Episcopal Church. It will be a ‘take what you need, leave what you can’ type pantry that will be filled with shelf-stable food by Grace Church parishioners and members of the Jefferson City community. My project will showcase Grace Church's connection to the community and its willingness to help others. The pantry is needed to provide the people of Jefferson City with nutritional assistance. It will help others who are going through hard times and who need help any time of the day. The pantry will be in downtown Jefferson City, a location which has documented socio-economic needs.”
The approval process involved gaining approval from the Vestry and Rector of Grace Episcopal Church and obtaining local approvals as Josie described in her proposal “After my proposal was approved, I began to solicit donations and finalize my plans for the pantry. I used suggestions from the board to complete the planning. I got an easement granted to dig from Jefferson City, City Council, which was a long process. I also had to contact Dig Rite to know if I would hit any underground facilities or lines.”
Grace Church parishioners generously donated funds to support the material cost of the Pantry which Josie estimated would cost approximately $396 and any funds left were used to purchase food supplies for the pantry.
Since the pantry was installed, it has gained significant interest in the community and is utilized by many in need daily to such an extent it is a challenge to keep the pantry stocked. We estimate that the amount of food supplied by those giving to the pantry in the church community alone is more than several thousand dollars per year. Community members are known to contribute to the pantry as well and the total giving likely exceeds this estimate. Grace Church has been awarded diocesan grant funds to help support stocking the pantry.
—Stephen Hall
