Hundreds of local residents can earn a supply of groceries later this month thanks to the services provided by With God’s Grace Mobile Food Pantry. The pantry-on-wheels will arrive at HomeSite Home Health Care on Brubaker Drive at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 20 and distribute bags of food to the first 125 families. Volunteers are still needed to assist with the event, and pantry founders want to spread the word so that families in need can obtain something to eat without having to travel outside downtown.
Nicole Adkins created With God’s Grace Mobile Food Pantry late last year, and began traveling to different cities passing out food on December 2. Adkins said she had been helping others with food assistance informally for years before starting her own mobile pantry—stressing that the need is very great in this area. She said it was important for her to establish s mobile pantry as opposed to a set location because many who require food assistance do not have the means to drive outside of their area to visit stationary pantries.
“Just knowing how many people don’t use the resources that are available because they can’t get to them—most of them can’t get there unless it’s within walking distance,” said Adkins.
She also noted that the mobile setting allows recipients to feel less-judged by others than in traditional food pantry settings.
“A lot of people feel like they’re going to be judged, and we never do because nobody should ever judge someone for needing assistance with food,” Adkins said. “Anybody at any time could require food assistance.”
Adkins said that no job is ever “one hundred percent guaranteed,” referencing workers at the handful of Target stores that recently closed in the state, saying that those people weren’t offered transfers or other positions—they lost their jobs all together.
Adkins’ pantry does require that recipients sign-in, but does not ask for any income verification. She said that her friend Billie at HomeSite Home Healthcare offered her the use of their site for the New Carlisle mobile food pantry pick-up location, which Adkins said is perfect because it is near low-income housing and senior living residences.
Offering items beyond food, Adkins’ consideration for those she serves is apparent, as her pantry also hands out pet food and supplies when available, so that recipients don’t give their own food to their dogs and cats. Adkins said that pets are more like family to people these days, noting that many would give up one of their own meals if it meant that their beloved pet could eat instead.
Before officially establishing the mobile pantry, Adkins and her husband James served 15 families by themselves in November. She said they now rely upon donations, noting that they pay the remaining balance out of their own pockets.
Volunteers are still very much needed to help with distribution on February 20, and anyone interested in helping should call Adkins at 397-4124. She said that donations are always in demand as well, and anyone with food to spare should call her as well. She will accept sealed food items, pet food, health and beauty products, and household goods, as well as homemade gloves and blankets.
The mobile will arrive at the home healthcare office at 266 Brubaker Drive at 1 p.m. on February 20, and items will be distributed until gone.
