Especially during the holidays, when Laurie Whitus’ family is simply trying to make ends meet, Love Chapel’s Christmas Pantry program gives her more than a $90 basket of food to make a holiday meal.
It gives her a way to become a giver as well. And she is forever grateful for that.
The past few years, local resident Whitus has taken the cookie mix that is part of her gift from the local, Christian nonprofit, and paired it with her own from-scratch ingredients in her cupboard to make treats for plenty of her neighbors.
“I use what they give me for others,” Whitus said. “Maybe you could call that paying it forward.
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“It definitely helps me feel something beyond woe-is-me. “
She is one among what could become an estimated record number of 1,700 families receiving the baskets this year from one of Bartholomew County’s largest food-and-grocery outreaches. The Ecumenical Assembly of Bartholomew County Churches, comprised of more than two dozen houses of worship, operates the program that began in 2003.
At press time, registration for the baskets was running about 70 ahead of last year’s figure at this time, according to estimates.
Registration for the Christmas Pantry continues through Dec. 6 via the Holiday Helpline at 812-375-2216. Residents simply must show they have been a county resident for the past 30 days and express a need for the help, according to organizers.
One of the challenges last year and in some previous years has been that families make a reservation for the pantry but then don’t show up to pick up their food, according to Kelly Daugherty, Love Chapel’s executive director. Pick dates this year are Dec. 9 through 12 at the former Hibbetts Sports space in FairOaks Mall, 2380 25th St. in Columbus.
Organizers are planning for the pickup area to be holiday festive with church choirs, praise teams, and some live singers and musicians, “just to make it all more Christmas-y,” Daugherty said.
Baskets, which include a turkey or a ham and dressing, potatoes and more, can be delivered to residents who are homebound, Daugherty said. Although Love Chapel is a Christian agency that declines any public funding and other help such as United Way of Bartholomew County grants, it serves all people from all backgrounds and beliefs.
Columbus resident and single mom Jessica Young mentioned that the Christmas pantry has been a big help for a holiday meal for her and her five children.
“It has blessed our family tremendously,” she said. “I’m very grateful for all the community help I have received as I try to live a normal life with my kids.”
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People can receive a basket of about $90 of food, including a ham or a turkey, potatoes, dressing, other vegetables, fruit and more by expressing a need via the local Holiday Helpline and proving that they have been a Bartholomew County resident for 30 days.
The Helpline number is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at 812-375-2216. Friday is the deadline.
If people need Spanish-language help, they can call SuCasa Columbus at 812-375-9370.
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