Twelve Baskets Food Pantry and Community Store in Portage welcomed the community to celebrate and tour the new renovation of its building and parking lot on November 12. The expanded space will more efficiently serve the growing number of people experiencing food insecurity. The mission is to lead the fight against hunger in the community by bridging the gap between the need and the excess, while restoring hope, dignity, and self-respect. Executive Director Kathy Fett thanked the many volunteers, individuals, businesses, churches, schools, and organizations that donated funds, materials, time and talent to the year-long renovation project.
Founding member and board secretary Joann Wespinter shared, “It is a huge undertaking to collect the food, organize it, distribute it and coordinate the volunteers to make it happen.” In June 2014, Twelve Baskets became a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization food pantry to serve Kalamazoo County and surrounding communities. “We began providing food for about 50-60 families per week as a supplemental program which took about 12-15 volunteers to coordinate.”
“Today, the pantry picks up, stores, and distributes more than 66,000 pounds of food each month through weekly grocery distributions,” said Autumn DesVogines, logistical/inventory coordinator. “I love to keep busy and help others. Volunteering gives me purpose, and I enjoy the logistics!”
Fett added that recently more than 500 families receive a full grocery cart of food at each weekly distribution. The pantry also hosts a weekly produce stand, Fresh Market, that provides fresh vegetables, fruit, and bakery items to about 150 families each week. Volunteers provide a total of about 500 hours of labor weekly.
Project coordinator for the renovation, Greg Goss, said the biggest challenge was coordinating the 60-75 volunteers during the project. “Making sure we had the right skilled people for each task at the correct time was crucial. Our volunteers were so generous with their time! We had to hire the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and the driveway, but the prep work, deconstruction, drywall and painting were done by volunteers. We now have over 13,000 square feet of new functional space.”
Also added were two new walk-in freezers to provide more meat and frozen foods. The Local 357 Pipefitters Union apprentices assembled the coolers and ran the piping with the oversight of their instructors, which saved about $30,000.
The expanded Community Store is open to the public three days weekly and accepts new and gently used items on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All income generated through the store is used to support the pantry.
Many volunteers expressed the joy, fun, and belonging they experience while serving. “My life has dramatically changed since coming here for community service. They showed me respect, hospitality and love. Now I continue to serve twice a month,” said Kevin Nixon.
“I’m totally overwhelmed by what we have accomplished, the volunteers, and the people we have helped. We keep getting blessed whenever we need it. Next goal is to acquire several one-ton vans to aid in food collection,” said Wespinter.
The Pantry and Community Store are thriving thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers and the donations and financial support received from large and small businesses, individuals, schools and churches, restaurants, and grocery stores, as well as the local gardeners and farmers. To learn how you can be a recipient, volunteer, donate, or get involved, go to twelve-baskets.org.
