BY SARAH STEPHENS AND MALIA RIGGS
ELMORE AUTAUGA NEWS
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The Welcome Food Pantry is about to make a big move to a new location, which will expand the possibilities to help more families in the west Elmore County area.
For the past 30 years, Welcome has occupied a small brick building on Main Street in Millbrook. An exterior wall of that building was the first to get a mural for the city. It is located across from Village Green Park.
The City of Millbrook purchased the building a couple of years ago and have since allowed the Christian-based food pantry to operate without rent to help cut down expenses. The city has also paid the insurance for the building.
However, Welcome has outgrown its walls, and as the need for services in has increased, a much larger building was purchased by Welcome recently. It is located on the I-65 service road in a building once used by Izera’s Event Center, among many other businesses.
Originally, the city acquired a grant to build a new building for Welcome. However, with recent inflation on the cost of materials, work is ongoing to change over the grant to help buy equipment for the new facility. The city purchased a home on Main Street and donated it to Welcome with the thought it could serve as the Welcome center. However, it was still not large enough to handle the operation and would have required more construction of a warehouse.
When the opportunity for a bigger building came, Welcome used the collateral from the donated home to purchase the new (to them) building. Renovations are planned to get it ready for use in the coming months.
Welcome has started a Capital Campaign to help with funding. The entity relies completely on donations to operate. The area churches, organizations, businesses and individuals have been generous over the years, as well as the County and the City of Millbrook.
An estimated 20-30 new families sign up for services each month. In 2021, Welcome served 3,490 clients. In December of last year that rose to 5,894.
So, expansion is absolutely necessary, according to Board President Philip L. Harris. He and Executive Director D’Ann Pendley said the future is very exciting, and it will change the way the organization does regular business.
Currently, there is a Food Drop once a month, where clients bring vehicles to the AirNow parking lot to receive larger amounts of food. Each Thursday of the month, clients can come to the Welcome center, and receive food items on top of the Food Drop.
In the future, it is hoped clients will be able to come to the larger center and pick up the food they specifically need for their families.
Last week, the center welcomed local officials for a tour of the facility, as well as hands-on experience in sorting, packaging and delivering food to clients. They had a great view of how this organization is run by volunteers.
“When you see it actually happen and the effort the volunteers put into it, it is quite an operation,” Millbrook Mayor Al Kelley said. “I had probably thought over the years, they had some groceries and you put it in a trunk. But it is very organized. They vet the people very well ahead of time. They make sure the family gets what they need, not just what they want. I am very proud of Welcome.”
County Commission Chairman Desirae Lewis Jackson said that walking through the building was a powerful experience for her.
“You can feel the prayers and love. It is a blessing that we have a Welcome Center here on the west side of Elmore County serving Millbrook, Coosada, Deatsville and the Town of Elmore. Thank you to all the volunteers. This is what it is all about. I am super excited to see the new location. Thank you for having this in your heart and doing what you do.”
County Commission Chairman Bart Mercer said it was amazing to see how the operation works, and the organization behind it.
“As many people as you serve, it is amazing to see how organized it really is. We appreciate that very much. We always know that when we support Welcome, it is going to be used well. I think this is a good example of the heart of Elmore County. Every time there is a need someone is going to step up.”
Welcome Board President Harris said he so appreciative of the officials for coming out to show their support and learn more about the inner workings of the massive operation.
“It demonstrates what we have always known, that is how much they support us and where their hearts are. We wanted to give them a deeper sense of how we operate, so that when they are confronted by the public, that they can say, ‘I know. I have been there. I know that they are being good stewards of the money they receive.”
Harris also thanked the United Way, that also took Welcome in their care.
When it comes to the clients, and offering help, Harris said it is easy, particularly when the cars come with clients in serious need of help.
“Every car here has a story, and every story would break your heart. There are people that have had horrible things happen to them. One of our clients was shot multiple times and in a coma for eight months. We had a lady with a daughter who went to prison and left her with seven children. There is story after story. It is wonderful for people to come and see it at a closer range and understand why we must move out of this building.”
During the event last week, Pendley praised the volunteers, saying Welcome would not be possible without them.
Harris said he cannot heap enough praise on the work of Executive Director Pendley. Under her guidance, the amount of food donated to Welcome has grown exponentially.
“And our budget has not changed. We operate on less than $70,000 a year and we have tripled the amount of food we provide. And, we have more than doubled the number of families we are providing for with the same budget.”
When it comes to the clients, Pendley said they become more like family as she and volunteers see their struggles and their celebrations.
Pendley has served as the director for seven years. She said that times have really changed, and it is rough for so many right now. People are in need like they have never been before.
“We have been with a lot of the clients for a long time,” Pendley said. “They are our neighbors. But to us, we know the ins and outs of what they need. We shop for them like we are shopping for their grandparents, or our moms and dads. Some of them we have to deliver to, because they cannot get here. Their situations change. They let people move in with them when they really cannot feed themselves.”
Both Pendley and Harris said they have noticed that often it is people who are struggling the most who try and help their neighbors and families the most. “It is because they are there as well, and they know how difficult it is,” Pendley said.
As the group walked through the building, officials learned that Welcome really is “busting out of the seams” of the current building and had a much better understanding of how important the move to a larger facility is needed.
“God has provided us a new home, so we are in the process of hopefully in the next 60 days to be serving in that new home. This current building may look like a dilapidated old place, but it has served us so well,” Pendley said.
Whatever the future holds for the building, once Welcome leaves, Pendley said whoever takes it over needs to understand a lot of prayers were made in that building.
For the new facility, Pendley said “The Lord has provided this facility. For our volunteers, most who are retired and over 60, it is going to mean a huge blessing that they are not having to offload this by hand each week. We moved over 500,000 pounds of food last year off the backs of seniors. They are going to be extremely grateful for our forklifts and pallet jacks and the ability to just move about. We will have more storage power for fresh produce. Currently, we cannot do that. It will be a constant staple we will always have.”
City Council President Michael Gay was very impressed with the tour and being able to take part in the workload for the day.
“The character of a community is judged by how you help the least fortunate among you, especially the hungry. That is where Welcome operates. This has been very important to the city to work with that and the partnership of churches that provide that for our community. They are doing the work that needs to be done. If we can go to bed at night knowing no one is hungry in West Elmore County, that is a good thing.”
Please visit the Welcome website at www.welcomefoodpantry.org
On the website you can make donations, and also sign up to volunteer. We will continue to follow the progress of Welcome, and we encourage groups to sign up to volunteer or set up donations.
