A FREE Emergency Produce Market will be available August 28th & September 25th at 3251 Westerville Road
Each week, we like to shine a spotlight on our amazing volunteers, donors, & New Albany Pantry Leadership team.
This week’s Pantry Spotlight is Jennifer Wilcoxon.
After moving to New Albany, Jennifer found herself joining the NAFP as a volunteer in the summer of 2018. She not only wanted to help people in the community but also saw volunteering as an opportunity to meet different people and get her kids involved with helping in the community.
In January of this year, she took on the role of Executive Director for the New Albany Food Pantry. Her favorite thing about her position is meeting and talking to different families, hearing their stories, and helping them as much as possible.
She now spends the majority of her time working on community outreach and reaching out to donors, organizations, and corporations in the community. She also spends much of her time sharing the NAFP’s mission, working with them, and asking for their support.
During her time at the Pantry, Jennifer says she has learned to become a better listener, have a better understanding of people in general, and now understands more about food insecurity and the needs of different families. As a result, NAFP has become a big part of her life.
Not long after Jennifer transitioned into the Executive Director position, the Covid-19 pandemic began. While dealing with the fallout of the pandemic has definitely presented some challenges (such as having to temporarily relocate operations to the Philip Heit Center at one point), Jennifer and the NAFP team persevered and found a way to continue successfully serving clients while still following all of the latest guidelines.
Jennifer believes that the most fulfilling thing about her job is hearing feedback from clients about how much their lives have been made easier and improved.
When asked “what is one thing you wish people knew about NAFP"?” she replied “I wish people knew that there is need everywhere; including New Albany. Suburban poverty is on the rise and my goal is to increase community awareness.”
Be sure to come back here to check out the NAFP Blog for future volunteer, donor and Leadership Spotlights.
Each week we will feature volunteers & staff from the New Albany Pantry. This week’s Spotlight is on Volunteer of the Month, Linda Lee, who started volunteering at the New Albany Food Pantry last year.
According to Linda, “I have enjoyed helping unload deliveries, sorting and restocking the shelves, assisting clients who are shopping, and most recently, taking a shift as a Lead Volunteer on an open shopping day. I have met so many wonderful people and am constantly amazed by the amount of work that is accomplished at the pantry every week.”
Like so many of us, Linda was moved by stories of families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in and around the New Albany community. “At the beginning of the pandemic, I heard stories about the struggles of families across the nation and felt so helpless. My husband is able to work from home and my two children (ages 15 and 17) are self-sufficient so I wanted to help other families who might be going through a rough time. Volunteering at the pantry this summer has allowed me to make a difference in our community but also gives me a sense of purpose. My family has been very fortunate so far but the pandemic has shown us how quickly things can change. It is reassuring to know that we have a caring community to support us in times of need.”
Thank you so much for all of your work inside the Pantry, Linda!
The Pantry recently got a fresh new look with the addition of some amazing artwork provided by Make Kindness Contagious!
In addition to running Food Rescue, we had the privilege of working with Susan as the NAFP Pantry Manager and also as a Logistics Coordinator for NAFP. She brought that same spirit and dedication to making a difference into the Pantry during here time here.
Join our friends over at The Chicken Salad Chick on Friday, July 24th thru Saturday, July 25th for a Family & Friends Event to celebrate the opening of their newest location at Hamilton Quarter 6304 East Dublin; Granville Road Columbus, OH 43054.
Reserve your spot today to enjoy a FREE meal from Chicken Salad Chick. Donations are encouraged and will directly benefit The New Albany Food Pantry.
Let your creativity shine, while giving back to the community!
This Friday, July 24th, join us for Empty Bowls at Bevelhymer Park!
Click here to reserve your spot to decorate a bowl.
*Please note: Social distancing & masks required. All participants must have a reserved time slot.
One special donor that surfaced during the COVID19 pandemic was local photographer, Sarah Higgiston. As a teen, Sarah recalls having what most of us would consider a really good life…they had a number of cool cars, a summer home, plenty of food & clothes, and a college fund. Until her dad got really sick, right at the time his company was undergoing a hostile takeover, and subsequently lost his job. Suddenly everything changed…then a recession hit! Mom was working but not making enough to pay essential bills, so they sold or lost everything they had to make ends meet!
Sarah recalls her worst day during this difficult time: “The toughest day for me was when I came home one Saturday from working all day at a local diner and discovered that my mom had sold “my” piano. I really regretted that I had complained so many times about having to practice. She didn’t think I would miss it!”
It was at this time that Sarah and her family were kindly supported by their local food pantry until they got back on their feet.
So with a little extra time on her hands to reflect during the COVID19 stay-at-home order, when money wasn’t being spent on “extravagances” like eating out, going to the salon, or shopping, Sarah decided to donate some of that money to the food pantry. She gave as often as she could, and was a huge contributor to the Pantry when the number of families which needed our services was rising, students were home from school without access to healthy food, and like Sarah’s dad, losing their jobs, temporarily or permanently.
We are SO grateful for Sarah and donors like her who stepped up to support our community!
We have heard similar stories from some of our clients who never thought they would need the services of a Food Pantry, so we are always happy to share stories from donors, just like Sarah, who are compelled to donate based on their own experiences, and with the help of their local pantry, were able to get through the tough times.
Thank you Sarah!!
“Across the globe, rainbows symbolize the gleaming hope of a brighter time once the pandemic storm passes.”
Hi! We are Lucas and Nik, the Columbus Academy Marketing interns for the New Albany Food Pantry this Summer. This past Sunday, we (along with the other NAFP interns Amiya and Spandana) were able to go into the pantry to help with our Summer Meals Program. While we were there, we helped put together the meal packages and we helped load our clients’ cars with all the different food items. We were able to provide nearly thirty families with meals for the week.
During our Summer Meals Program, we send home weekly pre-packaged meals (breakfast and lunch) to families with students who receive free/reduced meals during the school year. This program ensures that all NAPLS students have enough food during the summer months when resources may be limited. Our mission as a Pantry is to provide food to our neighbors in need, but this summer, we also want to address more systemic and structural issues, like the educational achievement gap which widens significantly during the summer. We are working to address this gap by sending home weekly learning activities along with our summer meals packages. Activities consist of crafts, books, educational magazines, games, and toys. When we helped out this week, we sent home a Fourth of July themed activity bag consisting of red and blue Jello, a USA States puzzle, a United States trivia game, and Crackerjacks. Our hope is that by sending home these activities, it will provide our families with something fun to do together that also provides an educational experience for the students.
In each food package, we sent home a variety of items such as milk, eggs, frozen meat, bread, fruits, and vegetables. The food we sent home with families came from sources such as Mid-Ohio Food Bank (where every $1 we spend can provide our families with up to $9 worth of groceries!), along with Cisco, and our generous community donors. When we were delivering the items on Sunday, our clients were kindly greeted and then the food was loaded into the back of their cars. The Summer Meals team has been working hard on perfecting their processes (which look much different this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic), so everything went quickly and smoothly!
As Marketing interns, this was our first time helping out in the Food Pantry. The Coronavirus pandemic has definitely changed what our internships look like this summer, but it was fun finally getting to be in the Pantry and doing some hands-on work assisting our clients.
Post written by Lucas and Nik
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We are collecting school supplies for families that we serve. Click to check out the wish list and drop any items you are able to donate in the collection box at The Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany.
Interested in volunteering for NAFP? Inquire within.
Check out the photos from our recent Community Open Kitchen. We had a wonderful evening making homemade tamales with Gabriela and Eileen. Thanks to everyone who came out!