It occurred to Susan Peters that after people applied for food stamps, and then had to wait for that program to begin, there was nowhere in Henry County to go to get the food they needed for their families. She had an idea of creating a food pantry to assist in this interim period. In 1990, Susan and a group of 9 other men and women began a mission modeled after one that was working in Wisconsin.
They began by using the St. James Church Hall as their headquarters. They would use the hall to distribute food to the needy, and then have to put everything back in place, so the church would have the same space available for their needs. Since they had little money to work with, they placed jars around the community to collect change. In 1992, they got a Delta Fare Share Grant and financed the purchase of a building on Highway 155.
To get the rest of the community involved, they had yard sales, fund raisers, and began going to other churches and asking them for money. With the money they received, they could go to the Atlanta Food Bank to purchase food at 10 cents per pound. The building and its expenses (water and electricity) managed to get paid and the Norfolk Southern Railroad donated a van, which was used to pick up donations from community grocery stores.
The all-volunteer work force grew slowly from the humble beginnings. Today there are
a hundred volunteers and a sixteen member Board of Directors. The number of people being fed from the pantry has continued to grow to more than 2300 people every month.
