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Good neighbors
make life in Logan County better for all of us. LDN wants
to celebrate the organizations and individuals who are
especially caring and helpful. Please send your
suggestions for groups and people we should cover, and
provide a brief description of what they do that makes
them Good Neighbors. |
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Full Service [FEB. 19 2000] The least flower, with a brimming cup, may stand. And share its dew-drop with another near." Elizabeth Barrett Browning reflects on sharing with others; benevolence. Altruism is the giving of self to others in kindness when not expecting anything in return. In fact, psychologists tell us that this sort of selfless giving makes us better and happier people. The Lincoln Food Pantry, located on the northwest corner of Broadway and Logan Street, is this sort of benevolent service to the community and Judy Parmenter is but one of the good neighbors who volunteers her time to help others. |
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Judy is living in Lincoln now for the third time and is
enjoying her retirement years with her husband, Bruce.
Her earlier years were spent teaching school as she received
a degree in elementary education 20 years after finishing high
school. Judy and
her husband have raised 5 children and have 11 grandchildren.
Not only is Judy a busy mother and grandmother, but she also
cares for her aging parents. Even still, she finds time to be a good neighbor by volunteering at the Lincoln Food Pantry. The Pantry has a special place for Judy as she shares an incident that happened when her husband was in graduate school in Georgia. Judy and her 3 little girls were far away from home and she was teaching on a provisional certificate for $200.00 a month. With paying rent, child-care for the youngest daughter, car expenses and food, that $200.00 was stretched to the breaking point. One time she recalls being down to $.03 in cash, with an empty gas tank, and no lunch money. People in their church somehow found out their circumstance and brought two boxes of food and some money. She learned then that it is much easier to give than to receive, but how thankful she was for those who gave.
[Outside the Lincoln Logan County Food Pantry]
Enter the Lincoln Food Pantry. It began as a ministry of the 33 churches in Logan County. A group from First United Methodist church led the organization and has also underwritten much of the cost. Other community churches then moved their food pantries to the one central location. Five volunteer managers oversee daily operation. They include Merlin and Helen Heyen, Nancy Sager, and Chuck and Joyce Wilson. There is also an Advisory Board with representatives from other Logan County churches. Charlotte Ijams is the board’s president.
[Volunteers like Judy Parmenter (right) help make the Pantry a success.] |
The Food Pantry is open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and on Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Food is given free of charge to any person who shows proof of a current Logan county address with Social Security numbers for the number of persons receiving food and for those who meet the USDA financial guidelines for receiving commodities. The amount of food given is based on the number of persons in a household. A person may come once a month for food, and once a week for pastries and bread, which is donated by local grocery stores. In 1994, the Pantry was serving 67 families
a month. In
December of 1999, 327 families were served, translating
into 930 individuals.
Thirty new families received goods in December.
These figures show that a lot of food goes out the
front door of the Pantry.
But to go out the front door it must come in the
back door. All
food is donated or bought with donated money, or is
government surplus. With
financial gifts the Pantry is able to purchase food from
the food bank in Springfield at a much reduced price.
Recently a grant was given to the Pantry to
install a sink, additional storage shelving, and to
purchase a large cooler.
This will enable the Pantry to provide more fresh
produce, which is encouraged by the government. Churches, individuals, postal workers, scouts, schools, the local pork producers and other organizations donate food and money to this worthy cause. Yet the need is still great. Until recently the United Methodist Church paid the utilities and furnished the building. The Food Pantry treasury now leases the building at a nominal cost and pays its own utilities. Lincoln is blessed to have a service like the Food Pantry and good neighbors like Judy Parmenter who make this possible.
[The abundance inside the Pantry] [Jeaneen Ray] |
