College Drive Presbyterian Church is home to the College Drive Food Pantry, a program for eligible residents of Muskingum County to receive free foods, like canned and boxed goods as well as fresh produce.
The pantry has been in operation for over 15 years, according to Eileen Adams, pantry volunteer and leader within the organization.
The College Drive Food Pantry is always looking for volunteers to help with lifting, packaging, and taking food outside to recipients. To volunteer, contact College Drive Presbyterian Church.
The pantry, which previously operated once a week, is currently open twice a month due to COVID-19. The second Wednesday of every month is the produce day, where eligible residents can receive fresh fruits and vegetables. Non-perishable food items are available on the fourth Wednesday.
“On the produce truck day, everybody comes. We can have a hundred-some people come,” said Adams.
The College Drive Food Pantry stocks several different types of foods for the residents who are eligible. Residents can pick up a form to sign up for aid from the pantry.
For residents to meet guidelines, they must fill out a form, which includes questions about household size, yearly income, monthly income, and weekly income.
Due to COVID-19, the pantry is operating a bit differently. Volunteers will go outside and get resident information from their car and will deliver the goods back to the resident’s car. Residents could previously come into the church and pick up their goods themselves.
While the church holds the pantry, not all volunteers are from the church. Adams, who is a member of the College Drive Presbyterian Church, said there are several volunteers from other churches. “The pantry is always open for more volunteers,” Adams said.
“We [volunteers] start at 10 in the morning and go until 5:30 and so, because we do the produce from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and then we do the pantry simultaneously, it’s a lot. We will get big pallets of food off the truck and then we have to bag up vegetables and things that they send, we bag them up and put them in boxes. It takes a lot of work, with lifting and such,” said Adams.
The food pantry is open twice a month. The second Wednesday is the produce day, where eligible residents can receive fresh fruits and vegetables. On the fourth Wednesday non-perishable food items are available.
The pantry is open the second and fourth Wednesday of every month. Pantry hours are 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the produce portion of the second Wednesday running from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The church is located at 2 West High Street in New Concord.
For questions about the pantry or volunteer opportunities, contact the church by phone at (740) 826-4036.
WMCO airs College Drive Presbyterian Church services Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Services reair Sunday and Wednesday nights at 7 p.m.
