Adapting a food program for a pandemic

Photos by Alexandrea Cordell

By Sarah Smith
Collaboration Project Story Team

For the past 20 years the Mt. Zion food pantry has assisted anyone in need in their community, open on the 1st and 3rd Mondays and 4th Tuesdays of every month. Most of the food comes from the Second Harvest Food Bank, but some is purchased from Woodman's as a supplement; no grant money comes in for the pantry, it is run entirely by the members of Mt. Zion. 

During this season of pandemic, the food pantry has not closed its doors and has even added some new services to help meet the needs of their community.  Rev. Dr. Marcus Allen, Pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, says, “We understand the food insecurities our people are enduring. [It] has been our focus since the pandemic to ensure people have food.”

The main pandemic focus of the pantry is families and children who used to get food from school but, with buildings being closed, no longer have that option. Mt. Zion has been partnering with Madison Metropolitan School District food trucks to take lunches to kids in their community. 

Allen says they hoped to pick the kids up to get the food, but the kids were home alone and reluctant to come without parents, so they adapted. “We started to pick the food up and drop them off at the homes,” he explained. “We do this Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1:30 pm.”

A challenge the pandemic has caused for the pantry is ongoing staffing.  Mrs. Sullins, the director, has still been coordinating delivering food to people who are unable to get to the pantry, but all the pantry volunteers are women over 60, which means they are higher risk during this time.  In response, the young adult leaders have stepped up and are now operating the pantry.

This season has changed and challenged our lives, our city, and the world. New challenges crop up overnight and the future can be hard to imagine. There is a need for creativity and compassion within the church. Mt. Zion Baptist Church, their pantry, pastor, and members heard the cries of their community and are working to meet their very tangible needs with compassion and empathy as Jesus would.

Sharing these stories is possible thanks to our amazing donors. We invite you to partner with Collaboration Project to help us tell stories that highlight how God is working in and through the local church.