The Ithaca Community Food Pantry was founded in 1996 and was housed in a single three shelf closet at the First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca. It was managed by Margie Klein. She was the sole volunteer and organizer and the church had 70 requests for food assistance. The food and supplies were provided by the church.
In 1997 the request for food assistance rose to 209 requests and met the food insecurity needs for 795 people. It was determined the needs of the Pantry exceeded the abilities of the congregation to handle alone. That year food drives by the Boy and Girl Scouts, and the Ithaca High School Honor Society, along with financial support from the Ithaca Ministerial Association, the Ithaca United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Foundation and the State of Michigan helped with the dramatic increase in demand for food assistance. This was the impetus for what has become the Ithaca Community Food Pantry (ICFP).
As a result of the increased need, a Board of Directors to oversee the pantry was formed with a vision to include as many churches as possible to participate in the process and expected growth. That goal has been met successfully over the 28 years since 1997. Unused space in the First Presbyterian Church was converted to house the physical space needed for food distribution with construction and donations from many different churches. Currently there are board members, volunteers, financial and supply support from nine different Ithaca community churches.
The success of the ICFP is the result of a shared community response to help the continuing societal issues of food insecurity. Local businesses are an essential part of that success. Ric’s Food Center is front and center with a commitment to help distribute Thanksgiving Day turkeys along with an ongoing donation of food that needs to find a home. Ithaca Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell continues to donate chicken, biscuits and pot pies that need to be eaten. The Hearthstone Oven and Bakery donate sweet treats that need to find a home. Isabella Bank, Mercantile Bank and Commercial Bank all make annual donations to the ICFP. At different times local businesses have held food drives to support the pantry. The Meijer Corporation also conducts a “Simply Give” donation campaign, with selected “double match” days that generates up to $5000 per quarter to our county food pantries.
While the total of annual distributions have stabilized to nearly 3,000 people each year, there is one other statistic that remains certain and that is the amount of the new families or individuals that have the need to access the ICFP during a time of food insecurity. Each year the ICFP can count on 9 to 14% of the 3,000 served to be new to the food pantry. For far too many, the possibility of experiencing a period of food insecurity is very real.
The ICFP is open every Wednesday (unless the Ithaca Public Schools are closed or Holiday) from 9:30-11:30AM. Emergency needs can be called into the First Presbyterian Church by leaving a message at (989) 875-4437.
The churches that support the ICFP currently includes Ithaca Church of God, Ithaca Living Hope Global Methodist Church, Saint Paul’s and Saint Martin’s Catholic Churches, Oasis Community Church, Edgewood Church of God, Ithaca Baptist Church, New Haven Church Of God and First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca which is the physical location of the ICFP. There are also many volunteers from the community-at-large.
