Calvary Episcopal Church Food Pantry, Inc.

The Food Pantry opened in April of 2009 in an effort to help local residents in need of food. Members of Calvary Episcopal Church felt called to organize and open the Food Pantry, but it could not operate without support from our whole community. In addition to Calvary, other local churches, businesses, individuals, service organizations, and philanthropic groups make the Food Pantry possible. In 2011, the Food Pantry was incorporated as a non-profit organization. We are a solely volunteer-based food pantry.

We obtain food from direct donations, by direct purchase, and through MANNA FoodBank in Asheville. From MANNA, we receive food through state-administered (SNAP) and direct-federal (TEFAP) hunger-relief programs, which helps offset our costs and provides additional food for our clients.

New food Pantry Building

Calvary Episcopal Church Food Pantry, Inc. is designated as a “very large” food pantry, as scored by our partner, MANNA Food Bank, and we are an authorized distributor of federal SAM and Henderson County TEFAP food. Our goal is to provide at least half a week’s provisions per weekly visit.  We aim to provide 45-50% of a family’s needs in fruits, vegetables, and grains, 25% of its milk, and 90% of its protein.

We are busy and crowded on Saturdays, when the Pantry is open to clients.  However, during the week, we are also busy, receiving and stocking food. This involves heavy cart and pallet jack traffic as well as many hours of volunteer time to shift, repackage and stack goods on the shelves. These activities contributed to the wear and tear on the Calvary Parish House and space restrictions prevented us from obtaining additional food supplies we might otherwise have donated to the Pantry.

in March of 2020, we moved into the newly built Calvary Center of Hope. This 5,000 square foot facility allows us to more adequately serve our clients. It also gives us the opportunity to receive bulk shipments of food that stretch each dollar even farther. This building project was made possible by the generous support of numerous contractors and building material suppliers whose work was coordinated by Dick Jennings of Jennings Building Supply. A community wide capital campaign, which received essential contributions from members of Fletcher United Methodist Church and the Lutheran Church of the Nativity, greatly enabled this project. Completing this building was the first funding priority of Calvary Episcopal Church’s capital improvement program, and the parish continues to provide all utilities and long-term maintenance necessary for the operation of the building.

our garden: THE LORDS ACRE

Another element we wanted to add to the pantry was a garden. In addition to what we offer to our food pantry, fresh food is imperative for a well-rounded diet. Everyone should have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and the garden provides natural foods for our clients. The reassurance we feel knowing clients are shopping for the very crops we grow behind the food pantry itself is so delightful.

Known as The Lords Acre, the garden is located near the cemetery. In the Spring of 2021 we made our dream a reality by gathering up all the rocks, tilling the plots, and preparing the land for crops. As a result, the Lords Acre has blessed us so far with nutritional foods such as green beans, peppers, and collard greens; and we are looking forward to more! We do not spray any pesticides or herbicides to our crops; everything is as it has grown from the Earth, and all of our produce goes towards the food pantry. Each week we return to the garden excited to see what has sprouted up. As we continue this journey, we are looking forward to what else we can accomplish when we come together!