BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS OWNER
The Millbrook Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual “Giving Luncheon” Thursday at the Catfish House of Millbrook. The beneficiary of monetary and food donations is the Welcome Food Pantry of Millbrook Alabama.
This event is always a popular gathering for the Chamber and its members for the Christmas season.
Brenda Dennis is the MACC Executive Director and opened up the meeting with a welcome remarking on the great attendance. Jeremy Powers, with the House of Restoration Church, led the opening prayer.
MACC Board President Penny Nichols also offered a Welcome, and thanked Chamber officials and members for all they do throughout the year.
The speaker for the day was Phillip Harris, the Board President for the W.E.L.C.O.M.E. Center.
He explained that around 1994 individuals and churches came together to form the group as a way to help those in need with food or other services. The organization was prompted by the number of hitchhikers from the interstate that would often be in need of food. From that token of selflessness, the group has grown dramatically. Today the main office is located on Main Street in Millbrook, and has weekly food distributions and monthly food drops.
At least 250 families receive food and other services each month, amounting to over 700 people. Many of those who receive assistance are young children.
Area residents must apply for acceptance into the food program. However, the desire is to find the true need for services, and not the reason.
Harris said that hunger doesn’t care if families are in situations because of bad decisions, or just a set of temporary circumstances. The goal is to feed the hungry that are truly in need.
Millbrook Mayor Al Kelley thanked Welcome for all the volunteers do throughout the year.
“This is such an important part of our community,” Mayor Kelley said. “The city does everything we can to support them in their efforts. We have applied for a grant that will help them locate into a new building in the future.”
If that grant is successful, the organization will have a new, expanded home to better serve the needs of the growing community.
The current building located at 3253 Main Street was recently purchased by the City of Millbrook, and they offer it to Welcome rent-free. That is a huge bonus, but volunteers realize that in the future there will have to be budgeting for new expenses related to a new building. A location of where the new building could be located is expected to be in the area of Grandview Road, perhaps near the new Senior Center which will open in the coming months.
As Dennis made announcements, many businesses came forward to offer additional monetary donations, and sign up for a month’s food drop. For just $250, a church, organization or individual can sponsor the monthly event. It will feed hundreds of people each month with items in bulk, rather than just the weekly program.
If you are interested in sponsoring a Food Drop, please get in touch with Welcome. They are open on Thursdays and can be reached at 334-285-0150. Their website is https://www.welcomefoodpantry.org/
You can also follow them on Facebook for the latest updates at https://www.facebook.com/WelcomeInc
D’Ann Pendley is the Director of Welcome.
On their Facebook page, organizers often give thanks to groups who have donated, held food drives, or give updates on the current needs at the pantry. Every bit helps, but monetary donations work best. Because of Welcome’s partnership with the Montgomery Area Foodbank, they can purchase food for cents on the dollar, a much-reduced price than an individual can pay for canned and other non-perishable food items. The center also is in need of personal hygiene items at any given time, and general household items like detergent and cleaning supplies.
About the Welcome Food Pantry – Who We Are, Our Mission
The West Elmore Christian Outreach Ministry Extension (WELCOME) is a non-profit corporation organized to aid the needy in West Elmore County, Alabama. The ministry provides food and encouragement to qualified persons. We provide a weekly food distribution and counseling to our clients. We also provide a monthly food drop of fresh produce, dairy and other food items. We are an agency of the Montgomery Area Food Bank and have adopted their rules and regulations regarding eligibility for our programs.
A big thanks to the Millbrook Area Chamber Board of Directors for you leadership in the past year.
2021-2022 Board of Directors are:
Officers are Penny Nichols, President; Yvette Roberson, Vice President; Scott Lee, Treasurer; Jamie Brown, Past President.
Other directors are Kim Anderson, Kevin Kelley, Marjorie Bowden, Rev. Janet Krantz, Robert Fales, Steve Mullis, Ingrid Graves, DJ Taylor, Erika Guthrie, Jaclyn Taylor, Ann Harper and Jamal Thomas.
