June 2, 2025 • 20 mins
This week on the podcast, we are grateful for a volunteer at Hope's Food Pantry who shares her story of finding both food assistance and a newfound family of support. Her story reminds us how HOPE's Food Pantry provides not just groceries but genuine community, hope, and healing to those experiencing difficult life circumstances.
To support Hope's Food Pantry, email foodpantry@meethope.org. Food distribution occurs on the second, fourth, and fifth Wednesdays from 12:15-2:15 PM at the corner of Centennial and Cooper in Voorhees, NJ. Donations can be dropped off 24/7 in the vestibule or made online at meethope.org.
Thanks for being a part of the HOPE community as we continue conversations about faith and hope! You can learn more at meethope.org or find us on socials @meethopechurch. Join in for worship on Sundays at meethope.online.church! Have a question? Contact us at podcast@meethope.org.
Enjoy what you heard? Be sure to rate us on Apple Podcasts and click the subscribe button so you don't miss new episodes every Monday!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome to Hope our world for the sake of others.
Welcome to Hope.
Hey everybody, welcome to theMeet Hope podcast.
My name is Dave and it's greatto be here with you today.
Today I'm looking forward tothis conversation because I'm
here with a friend of mine.
She is a volunteer down at thefood pantry.
(00:43):
She's also a patron of the foodpantry and because of that we
want to protect her identity andwe are appreciative of her
taking the time of her day tocome and share, and that I hope
you can hear from her heart alittle bit about the impact that
(01:03):
the food pantry has on peoplelike her and the many other
people that we help and the manypeople that volunteer and serve
down there.
For those of you that don't know, our church has a food pantry
that uses the building at thecorner of our property.
It is a very important ministryhere at Hope Church because, as
we share with our volunteersdown there, that they are the
(01:27):
actual hands and feet of Jesus.
It is a practical way that wecan serve other people and make
a difference in our community.
So how did you become connectedto Hope's Food Pantry?
So how did you hear about it?
How did you end up coming forthe first time?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
about it?
How did you end up coming forthe first time?
I was on my way to have PT andI was looking for food pantries
in the area and I figured, on myway home I would stop at the
Hope Church or the Hope FoodPantry and see what it was all
(02:05):
about, because I had fallen intoa horrible situation.
I was down, I believe, as faras I possibly could be.
I definitely could not see anylight at any tunnels.
(02:26):
And on my way to the tunnel, onmy way to the church and the
food pantry, on my return trip,I ran out of gas at the traffic
light there, which is anextremely dangerous place to run
(02:48):
out of gas, even though there'sa traffic light there.
So I immediately used my OnStarbutton and I said help, yeah
that I had the police departmentarrive and they pushed, shoved
(03:09):
my car into Hope's pantry.
Upon that, two people from GodMust Descent or just popped up
out of the ground, were there.
And are you hurt?
What do you need?
All the concerns of warm people?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
So you were at the traffic light.
I'm guessing at the corner ofCooper and Centennial.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Right.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
And you ran out of gas, right?
Did you know that the Hope FoodPantry existed prior to that
moment of being pushed in?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
No, Did you know that the Hope Food Pantry existed
prior to that moment of beingpushed in?
No, or on my way to the PTclass, I may have read the sign
in the future, or in the past, Ishould say, and say isn't that
a wonderful thing that there'ssomebody out there helping
(04:04):
people and I go.
I got to be one of them now.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, okay.
So I mean that's crazy that youwere.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
As far as I'm concerned, it was meant to be.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
I was meant to run out of gas.
The church was meant to bethere and the people were meant
to be there.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Some people would call that a coincidence.
I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
No, I wouldn't either .
Speaker 2 (04:38):
And maybe God had a little bit involved, because
here we are today.
This is a little over a yearago at this point right.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
About 18 months.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yeah, because when I started working down at the food
pantry, you had already beenwell established as a volunteer
on Tuesdays at that point,speaking of which, so you were
in need of help, so you startedcoming and receiving food from
the food pantry.
How did you end up volunteering?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
I came the following week when the two volunteers
came to me and asked me what Iwas doing and whatever.
And asked me what I was doingand whatever.
And I was so in awe of thesepeople that I said do you have
(05:32):
to be a volunteer of the church?
And they said absolutely not,you don't even have to go to the
church.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
To receive food Right Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Okay and I said, well , how do I join?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And the woman said just come and we'll all sign you
up.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
So that following week you came to receive food
Exactly Exactly, I figured.
If this place is helping me,the least I can do is help them.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So how long had you been coming and receiving food
before you started volunteering?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
The one time when I was pushed in.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And then you reached out and said I want to help too.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
And from that point you got plugged into one of the
teams Correct and got connectedfrom there.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So what is the whole experience between being
somebody that has been helped bythe food pantry as well as
being somebody that has beenserving down there?
What has that experience beenlike for you?
Speaker 3 (06:46):
it's amazing because it has given me hope.
I usually work now two days aweek.
Um, I'll be really very frank.
I can't wait until I go backthe following Tuesday, because I
have people who are becoming myfriends, who care about me, and
(07:11):
on the reverse side, I'mhelping people.
And it becomes a little.
It's a family.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
It's absolutely a family.
If somebody doesn't see me at acertain time, they're on the
phone calling where are you,okay, or doing well checks, Just
as a joke, or caring.
I was sitting out when we didhave a nice day, waiting for it
(07:42):
to open officially, and twopeople appear with sunscreen and
I go what are you doing?
And they go you're going to getburnt.
So that's the kind of place itis.
It's caring and no questionsasked.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
None at all.
You walk through the front doorand say I'm here to help, and
they say come on, and that'swhat I like about it.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
And I think your definition, your way of
describing it as a family,really is true, your way of
describing it as a family reallyis true and I've shared.
For those of you that have beenlistening to the podcast for a
while, I shared back in.
I want to say the podcast,aired sometime in the fall of
2024, was talking about how eachof the teams that serve down
(08:38):
there at the food pantry, theykind of have their own
personality, each of the teamsand, um, but all of the teams
kind of they've they've formedthis family relationship and
they all look different and theyare all probably just as weird
and dysfunctional as mostfamilies are.
Um, but the reality is.
(09:00):
But the reality is it's morethan just coming and giving two
hours of your time.
It's the conversations you have, the time you spend with the
people, the oh, you were just onvacation.
Show us pictures, what was itlike?
Oh, give us an update on yourson or your daughter, what's
been going on in your life.
So it's more than just serving.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
I was in a position where my friends and family had
I'll use the word deserted me.
Okay, there was no forgivenessin their heart for what I had
done and I believe until thisday there isn't complete
(09:52):
forgiveness or understanding.
But yet, when I walk into thefood bank, somebody will say to
me well, did you go to thedoctors?
What was the report?
And in return I'll say did yourdaughter get into med school?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Okay, and these new people I met, building new
friendships, that what Iconsider are true friendships.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yep, yep, I think that's a great way to describe
it.
You had said earlier that and Iforget how you specifically
worded it, but you saidsomething along the lines of
that you've received more thanjust food, that you've received
hope.
Can you tell?
Speaker 3 (10:42):
me a little bit more about what you mean by that?
Hope is the name of your churchor the place that gave me hope.
I was displaced from where Iwas living.
(11:02):
I was displaced from the peoplethat were my everyday lives for
a good amount of years.
Basically, I didn't know whereto turn.
And then I walked in and thesepeople not only became hope,
(11:30):
didn't prejudge me when we gottalking as friends and said I
don't know that what I had donewas not terrible and it was
certainly reversible with loveand care.
And that's what I got fromthese people that I was a person
(11:52):
.
I wasn't a piece of not toexaggerate dirt.
Do you know what I mean and howat my age could I have ever
considered that they understoodwhere I was coming from and they
pulled me out of that darksurrounding hole pretty quickly.
(12:20):
Yeah, surrounding hole prettyquickly, yeah, and I'll never,
never forget them or show themenough appreciation and do
enough for them.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, yeah, and I think I think it was last week
you had mentioned we had a.
I would say it was probably oneof our deepest conversations
we've had down there on one ofthe Tuesdays that we've served
together, and we were talkingabout family and life and
(12:54):
history, like you know, kind ofwhere we all are, and a number
of us had shared some personalstories and, um, you know, it's
easy for us to think thateverybody around us, their
family life, is perfect, right,and I remember at the end you
saying something like I reallyenjoyed our conversation today
(13:15):
because it helped me understandthat I'm not alone in all this.
And, um, like you know, we allhave stories from our past and
from our childhood and uh, andsome from adulthood and and
things like that.
So it's, um, I'm, I'm.
I was really encouraged whenyou said that, said it like that
(13:36):
, you know I, you know thesepeople are just like me.
You know these people are justlike me, I'm not alone in this,
and I think that's a goodmessage for people to know.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
That's true, it is, but until you find a friend or
that association to give you thehelp and support.
Now I'm not saying that somepeople don't need professional
(14:05):
help okay, but I think besidesprofessional help, you need a
friend or an associate, becausethat professional is not your
friend.
That professional is not yourfriend, he's an expert or
(14:29):
somebody who's medically tryingto put you in the right
direction.
But when you meet a new personwho knows nothing about you but
your name, and you start sharingstories and people cry with you
or people laugh with you, youdon't think you're that bad and
that you can become the personyou were before this incident
(14:52):
happened.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, and I think, as we read through scripture, you
know, one of the things we canunderstand from diving deep into
scripture is that we're createdfor community, we're created to
not walk through this life byourself, that we need other
people, we need relationshipsand friendships and people to
(15:16):
walk alongside of us.
So I'm glad that you found thatwith your weird group of family
members that you serve withevery Tuesday and Wednesday.
Let me ask you this one lastquestion what do you wish more
people knew about the foodpantry?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
That in their vocabulary is not the word no.
If you're the first person inline or you're the last person
in line, you will receive food.
If we have to put togetherspecial bags for you to go home
(16:00):
with that contains sweet stuff,salt, salty stuff, a protein, we
will put it together for youand it will last you until the
next opening.
Until the next opening, andthen you just drive up again,
(16:22):
hand them your card and they'llstart all over again.
They don't judge you if you'rein a Rolls Royce or a Jalopy,
but it means that you need helpand you found the Hope Food
(16:42):
Pantry.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Well, it's interesting you mention that,
because I hear people often saylook at that person in that car
waiting in line at the foodpantry, they don't need help.
That's too nice of a car.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
That's the perfect example of the don't judge a
book by the cover scenarioexactly.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
I mean um, you don't know what that person's maybe
they took their neighbor's car.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Maybe they have their sister's car.
Um, there could be many reasonsum how they got to the pantry.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
And we try to do what we can right.
We try to help as many peopleas we can, in any ways that we
can.
I wish we could help everyone,but the reality is we are doing
a small part in a much greaterneed throughout the country.
We are partnered with the SouthJersey Food Bank, as some of
(17:46):
our listeners already know, andthey serve many counties here in
South Jersey, and we are justone of the many agencies that
partner with them to make a muchlarger impact in this corner of
our country and in this cornerof our world.
Well, thank you so much forcoming and sharing a little bit
(18:07):
about your story and openingyour heart to us.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Thank you for having me.
It was my pleasure, attached tothe pantry and the people that
I'm meeting little by littlefrom the church, and it's a
(18:36):
beautiful experience and I wishmore people would come and share
with us Great Well.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
For those that don't know, our pantry offers more
than just food.
It provides connection andrenewal, as you heard here today
.
If anyone is listening and isinterested in supporting,
donating, volunteering, sharing,feel free to reach out to me,
to us at foodpantryatmeathopeorg.
That email will be in our shownotes.
(19:00):
If you are listening and youneed help, know that the food
pantry is open.
We distribute food on thesecond, fourth and fifth
Wednesdays of the month and ifyou need food, just come anytime
between 1215 and 215, and we'rehappy to help.
The food pantry is located atthe corner of Centennial and
(19:22):
Cooper in Voorhees, new Jersey,and if you're looking to donate
food, the vestibule is open 24hours a day for you to drop off
food or anything that you'd liketo drop off to help out.
If you'd like to donate money,you can donate to the food
(19:43):
pantry at meethopeorg and ifyou're looking to volunteer or
if you just need moreinformation, as I mentioned,
please feel free to email us atfoodpantry at meethopeorg.
There will be plenty of detailsin the show notes if you are
looking for any otherinformation and to our listeners
.
Thank you for listening to theMeet Hope podcast.
(20:03):
Be sure to subscribe so thatyou never miss a new podcast
from Hope, and share thisepisode with a friend.
Make sure to check back everyMonday for a new episode.
Until then, have a great day.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith and hope.
If you don't already, pleasejoin us for worship on Sundays
or on demand.
You can learn more atmeethopeorg or find us on
socials at meethopechurch.
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome to Hope our world for the sake of others.
Welcome to Hope.
Hey everybody, welcome to theMeet Hope podcast.
My name is Dave and it's greatto be here with you today.
Today I'm looking forward tothis conversation because I'm
here with a friend of mine.
She is a volunteer down at thefood pantry.
(00:43):
She's also a patron of the foodpantry and because of that we
want to protect her identity andwe are appreciative of her
taking the time of her day tocome and share, and that I hope
you can hear from her heart alittle bit about the impact that
(01:03):
the food pantry has on peoplelike her and the many other
people that we help and the manypeople that volunteer and serve
down there.
For those of you that don't know, our church has a food pantry
that uses the building at thecorner of our property.
It is a very important ministryhere at Hope Church because, as
we share with our volunteersdown there, that they are the
(01:27):
actual hands and feet of Jesus.
It is a practical way that wecan serve other people and make
a difference in our community.
So how did you become connectedto Hope's Food Pantry?
So how did you hear about it?
How did you end up coming forthe first time?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
about it?
How did you end up coming forthe first time?
I was on my way to have PT andI was looking for food pantries
in the area and I figured, on myway home I would stop at the
Hope Church or the Hope FoodPantry and see what it was all
(02:05):
about, because I had fallen intoa horrible situation.
I was down, I believe, as faras I possibly could be.
I definitely could not see anylight at any tunnels.
(02:26):
And on my way to the tunnel, onmy way to the church and the
food pantry, on my return trip,I ran out of gas at the traffic
light there, which is anextremely dangerous place to run
(02:48):
out of gas, even though there'sa traffic light there.
So I immediately used my OnStarbutton and I said help, yeah
that I had the police departmentarrive and they pushed, shoved
(03:09):
my car into Hope's pantry.
Upon that, two people from GodMust Descent or just popped up
out of the ground, were there.
And are you hurt?
What do you need?
All the concerns of warm people?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
So you were at the traffic light.
I'm guessing at the corner ofCooper and Centennial.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Right.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
And you ran out of gas, right?
Did you know that the Hope FoodPantry existed prior to that
moment of being pushed in?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
No, Did you know that the Hope Food Pantry existed
prior to that moment of beingpushed in?
No, or on my way to the PTclass, I may have read the sign
in the future, or in the past, Ishould say, and say isn't that
a wonderful thing that there'ssomebody out there helping
(04:04):
people and I go.
I got to be one of them now.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, okay.
So I mean that's crazy that youwere.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
As far as I'm concerned, it was meant to be.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
I was meant to run out of gas.
The church was meant to bethere and the people were meant
to be there.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Some people would call that a coincidence.
I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
No, I wouldn't either .
Speaker 2 (04:38):
And maybe God had a little bit involved, because
here we are today.
This is a little over a yearago at this point right.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
About 18 months.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yeah, because when I started working down at the food
pantry, you had already beenwell established as a volunteer
on Tuesdays at that point,speaking of which, so you were
in need of help, so you startedcoming and receiving food from
the food pantry.
How did you end up volunteering?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
I came the following week when the two volunteers
came to me and asked me what Iwas doing and whatever.
And asked me what I was doingand whatever.
And I was so in awe of thesepeople that I said do you have
(05:32):
to be a volunteer of the church?
And they said absolutely not,you don't even have to go to the
church.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
To receive food Right Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Okay and I said, well , how do I join?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And the woman said just come and we'll all sign you
up.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
So that following week you came to receive food
Exactly Exactly, I figured.
If this place is helping me,the least I can do is help them.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So how long had you been coming and receiving food
before you started volunteering?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
The one time when I was pushed in.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And then you reached out and said I want to help too.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
And from that point you got plugged into one of the
teams Correct and got connectedfrom there.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So what is the whole experience between being
somebody that has been helped bythe food pantry as well as
being somebody that has beenserving down there?
What has that experience beenlike for you?
Speaker 3 (06:46):
it's amazing because it has given me hope.
I usually work now two days aweek.
Um, I'll be really very frank.
I can't wait until I go backthe following Tuesday, because I
have people who are becoming myfriends, who care about me, and
(07:11):
on the reverse side, I'mhelping people.
And it becomes a little.
It's a family.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
It's absolutely a family.
If somebody doesn't see me at acertain time, they're on the
phone calling where are you,okay, or doing well checks, Just
as a joke, or caring.
I was sitting out when we didhave a nice day, waiting for it
(07:42):
to open officially, and twopeople appear with sunscreen and
I go what are you doing?
And they go you're going to getburnt.
So that's the kind of place itis.
It's caring and no questionsasked.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
None at all.
You walk through the front doorand say I'm here to help, and
they say come on, and that'swhat I like about it.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
And I think your definition, your way of
describing it as a family,really is true, your way of
describing it as a family reallyis true and I've shared.
For those of you that have beenlistening to the podcast for a
while, I shared back in.
I want to say the podcast,aired sometime in the fall of
2024, was talking about how eachof the teams that serve down
(08:38):
there at the food pantry, theykind of have their own
personality, each of the teamsand, um, but all of the teams
kind of they've they've formedthis family relationship and
they all look different and theyare all probably just as weird
and dysfunctional as mostfamilies are.
Um, but the reality is.
(09:00):
But the reality is it's morethan just coming and giving two
hours of your time.
It's the conversations you have, the time you spend with the
people, the oh, you were just onvacation.
Show us pictures, what was itlike?
Oh, give us an update on yourson or your daughter, what's
been going on in your life.
So it's more than just serving.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
I was in a position where my friends and family had
I'll use the word deserted me.
Okay, there was no forgivenessin their heart for what I had
done and I believe until thisday there isn't complete
(09:52):
forgiveness or understanding.
But yet, when I walk into thefood bank, somebody will say to
me well, did you go to thedoctors?
What was the report?
And in return I'll say did yourdaughter get into med school?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Okay, and these new people I met, building new
friendships, that what Iconsider are true friendships.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yep, yep, I think that's a great way to describe
it.
You had said earlier that and Iforget how you specifically
worded it, but you saidsomething along the lines of
that you've received more thanjust food, that you've received
hope.
Can you tell?
Speaker 3 (10:42):
me a little bit more about what you mean by that?
Hope is the name of your churchor the place that gave me hope.
I was displaced from where Iwas living.
(11:02):
I was displaced from the peoplethat were my everyday lives for
a good amount of years.
Basically, I didn't know whereto turn.
And then I walked in and thesepeople not only became hope,
(11:30):
didn't prejudge me when we gottalking as friends and said I
don't know that what I had donewas not terrible and it was
certainly reversible with loveand care.
And that's what I got fromthese people that I was a person
(11:52):
.
I wasn't a piece of not toexaggerate dirt.
Do you know what I mean and howat my age could I have ever
considered that they understoodwhere I was coming from and they
pulled me out of that darksurrounding hole pretty quickly.
(12:20):
Yeah, surrounding hole prettyquickly, yeah, and I'll never,
never forget them or show themenough appreciation and do
enough for them.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, yeah, and I think I think it was last week
you had mentioned we had a.
I would say it was probably oneof our deepest conversations
we've had down there on one ofthe Tuesdays that we've served
together, and we were talkingabout family and life and
(12:54):
history, like you know, kind ofwhere we all are, and a number
of us had shared some personalstories and, um, you know, it's
easy for us to think thateverybody around us, their
family life, is perfect, right,and I remember at the end you
saying something like I reallyenjoyed our conversation today
(13:15):
because it helped me understandthat I'm not alone in all this.
And, um, like you know, we allhave stories from our past and
from our childhood and uh, andsome from adulthood and and
things like that.
So it's, um, I'm, I'm.
I was really encouraged whenyou said that, said it like that
(13:36):
, you know I, you know thesepeople are just like me.
You know these people are justlike me, I'm not alone in this,
and I think that's a goodmessage for people to know.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
That's true, it is, but until you find a friend or
that association to give you thehelp and support.
Now I'm not saying that somepeople don't need professional
(14:05):
help okay, but I think besidesprofessional help, you need a
friend or an associate, becausethat professional is not your
friend.
That professional is not yourfriend, he's an expert or
(14:29):
somebody who's medically tryingto put you in the right
direction.
But when you meet a new personwho knows nothing about you but
your name, and you start sharingstories and people cry with you
or people laugh with you, youdon't think you're that bad and
that you can become the personyou were before this incident
(14:52):
happened.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, and I think, as we read through scripture, you
know, one of the things we canunderstand from diving deep into
scripture is that we're createdfor community, we're created to
not walk through this life byourself, that we need other
people, we need relationshipsand friendships and people to
(15:16):
walk alongside of us.
So I'm glad that you found thatwith your weird group of family
members that you serve withevery Tuesday and Wednesday.
Let me ask you this one lastquestion what do you wish more
people knew about the foodpantry?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
That in their vocabulary is not the word no.
If you're the first person inline or you're the last person
in line, you will receive food.
If we have to put togetherspecial bags for you to go home
(16:00):
with that contains sweet stuff,salt, salty stuff, a protein, we
will put it together for youand it will last you until the
next opening.
Until the next opening, andthen you just drive up again,
(16:22):
hand them your card and they'llstart all over again.
They don't judge you if you'rein a Rolls Royce or a Jalopy,
but it means that you need helpand you found the Hope Food
(16:42):
Pantry.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Well, it's interesting you mention that,
because I hear people often saylook at that person in that car
waiting in line at the foodpantry, they don't need help.
That's too nice of a car.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
That's the perfect example of the don't judge a
book by the cover scenarioexactly.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
I mean um, you don't know what that person's maybe
they took their neighbor's car.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Maybe they have their sister's car.
Um, there could be many reasonsum how they got to the pantry.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
And we try to do what we can right.
We try to help as many peopleas we can, in any ways that we
can.
I wish we could help everyone,but the reality is we are doing
a small part in a much greaterneed throughout the country.
We are partnered with the SouthJersey Food Bank, as some of
(17:46):
our listeners already know, andthey serve many counties here in
South Jersey, and we are justone of the many agencies that
partner with them to make a muchlarger impact in this corner of
our country and in this cornerof our world.
Well, thank you so much forcoming and sharing a little bit
(18:07):
about your story and openingyour heart to us.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Thank you for having me.
It was my pleasure, attached tothe pantry and the people that
I'm meeting little by littlefrom the church, and it's a
(18:36):
beautiful experience and I wishmore people would come and share
with us Great Well.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
For those that don't know, our pantry offers more
than just food.
It provides connection andrenewal, as you heard here today
.
If anyone is listening and isinterested in supporting,
donating, volunteering, sharing,feel free to reach out to me,
to us at foodpantryatmeathopeorg.
That email will be in our shownotes.
(19:00):
If you are listening and youneed help, know that the food
pantry is open.
We distribute food on thesecond, fourth and fifth
Wednesdays of the month and ifyou need food, just come anytime
between 1215 and 215, and we'rehappy to help.
The food pantry is located atthe corner of Centennial and
(19:22):
Cooper in Voorhees, new Jersey,and if you're looking to donate
food, the vestibule is open 24hours a day for you to drop off
food or anything that you'd liketo drop off to help out.
If you'd like to donate money,you can donate to the food
(19:43):
pantry at meethopeorg and ifyou're looking to volunteer or
if you just need moreinformation, as I mentioned,
please feel free to email us atfoodpantry at meethopeorg.
There will be plenty of detailsin the show notes if you are
looking for any otherinformation and to our listeners
.
Thank you for listening to theMeet Hope podcast.
(20:03):
Be sure to subscribe so thatyou never miss a new podcast
from Hope, and share thisepisode with a friend.
Make sure to check back everyMonday for a new episode.
Until then, have a great day.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith and hope.
If you don't already, pleasejoin us for worship on Sundays
or on demand.
You can learn more atmeethopeorg or find us on
socials at meethopechurch.
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