Food Pantry

Our pantry is open Thursday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. on 2nd and 4th Wednesday evenings


Our pantry is a wonderful outreach of Grace Church. We regularly serve upwards of 500 families in an average week. Each family unit represents four people, so over 1,000 people receive a meal each week. In addition, some toiletries and more foods are passed out, depending on the supply.

Much work goes into preparing for distribution. Wednesday morning, we assemble a small crew to help unload the truck and set up. Some Wednesdays and Thursdays, the line can stretch down Third Street.

A lot of the food is donated, but the cost to our parish is still well over $1,000 a month. Our parishioners donate money, and several grants from the Episcopal Community Services Foundation and Richland County Foundation help fund our efforts to help our community.

We are thankful to our volunteers, the Cleveland Food Bank, Panera Bread for their generous donations of breads and bagels, Mansfield Dental Society for toothbrushes and toothpaste, The Kroger Co., KV Market., and the community for their help and support.

Our Pantry's History

Our food pantry is a wonderful outreach of Grace Church. Originally, Dorothy Ridley organized the collection and distribution of food from a small room. In late 2001, Pat Rader volunteered to help the Rector meet the many requests this inner-city parish received for food assistance.

The pantry soon outgrew the tiny room and Dick Vogus, our then Sexton, built a storage room in the undercroft. Refrigerators and freezers were donated, and we were off and running. Special credit to Ginny Harmon for organizing this undertaking, in the early days of this program, seeing that the food we needed was ordered. Ginny spent countless hours with the pantry.

We could not do this without our team of faithful volunteers. Thanks to all who volunteer, organize, and give their time to our pantry and community.