This March, Ross Medical Education Center in Roosevelt Park collected non-perishable food items and donated them to Christ’s Cupboard, the food pantry for community members at local Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Muskegon. The staff, students, and faculty were excited to help replenish some of the stock at the pantry and support their work in taking care of the residents in the surrounding community. Throughout the month, everyone worked together to bring in packaged foods to contribute to the cause.
The pantry, which is normally open from 10 a.m. till noon Saturdays, generally serves clients referred to them by Love INC, an independent charity and Christian-based network of community churches. “The need in Muskegon is so great. We’re just one pantry,” Michelle Jablonski, Office Manager at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, said. “We never turn away anybody. Someone is always given food, if they come.” She said if a client comes in who is not on the pantry’s referral list, that person still receives enough food for the weekend and some information about Love INC.
Christ’s Cupboard, which operates on a donation basis, is the only Love INC affiliated food pantry that is open on Saturdays, Jablonski said. In 2014, the pantry assisted 467 families that included 370 children and 650 adults. This February, the pantry suffered burst pipes in which they lost a third of their food for the community. The Roosevelt Park campus was happy that they were able to donate a total of 623 items to the pantry in their time of need as a result of the food drive conducted at the campus.
If you are interested in finding out more about Christ’s Cupboard and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, visit their Facebook page or their website at http://www.oslcmuskegon.org/. If you are interested in other organizations across the nation that are associated with Love INC, visit their Facebook page or their website at http://www.loveinc.org/.