For more than 13 years, Hearty Helpings Food Pantry has been a beacon of hope for individuals and families unsure of where their next meal would come from.
And every year, the owner — Pandora Redmond — would find some way, with the help of the local community and businesses, to accommodate her burgeoning business of benevolence.
On Monday, Redmond solicited the assistance of the Washington County Board of Supervisors for a building to use as a base of operations during their regular meeting.
Redmond, who is also a registered nurse, provided the BOS with some background on how the pantry got started in 2009 as she was providing home care services primarily to senior citizens.
“Over the years, it has really grown and has become a great support to the community. Prior to the pandemic, we were serving 200 to 300 people a month. When the pandemic hit, the numbers went up and we served over 40,000 individuals, 18,000 families and gave away over 300,000 pounds of food,” she recalled. “Last year, we served less because people went back to work, but we served over 16,000 families, over 33,000 individuals and we gave away over a half million pounds of food.”
Such reasons are why Redmond desperately needs a building that would be adequate enough to sustain such a heavy influx of various foods and produce.
She highlighted the donation of a refrigerated truck by way of a partnership between Mars Food, Molina Healthcare of Mississippi and Kroger Delta Division made it possible for Hearty Helpings to deliver an even larger amount of food to needy families.
“We were able to go out and pick up food and bring it back to the county,” Redmond said. “I think out of 500,000 people, a quarter of a million came after we got the truck within four months, so we were bringing a lot of food in and picking it up.”
Prior to the donation of the truck, the Hearty Helpings staff was tasked with renting a U-Haul to deliver to the other various areas it serves via its mobile pantry for those who don’t have access to travel to Greenville.
Redmond said with Hearty Helpings picking up three times a week from Greenville and Indianola’s Walmart locations, they house at least 40,000 to 60,000 pounds of food at any given time.
Dollar General accounts for a significant portion of Hearty Helpings’ food donations as well.
“When Dollar General donates, they donate 40,000 to 50,000 pounds at a time,” she pointed out.
Hauls as substantial as those require sufficient storage with regard to a facility’s space, temperature and other aspects as it relates to maintenance.
“We also partner with Mississippi Food Network and Extra Table out of Hattiesburg, so we have food coming in all of the time,” Redmond said, noting the food has to be kept at the right temperature.
The building that Redmond is currently renting is simply not sustainable, logistically or financially, as Hearty Helpings is a 501(c)(3) organization
“I’ve been supporting the pantry out of my personal finances as well as through my other business…the community has really stepped in and businesses and churches have helped us,” Redmond acknowledged. “We do what we can, but it’s a lot.”
Board members were of the consensus that the well documented efforts of Redmond through the Hearty Helpings Food Pantry warranted some actionable steps, the first being to confer with the county administrator and attorney to the extent of finding an alternative location for her operation.
