The work we do at Farm Fresh RI wouldn’t be possible without our community partners, for which we hold enormous gratitude. Today we are celebrating one of our hunger relief agency partners, Pantry on the Lane. The pantry has been a Hope’s Harvest partner since 2023 and does great work feeding their community in Washington County.
Pantry on the Lane is a project of Joy Fellowship Church, located in Westerly’s Bradford village. Led by the church’s pastor Mark and Autumn, the pantry’s manager, the pantry has expanded its operations over the last 4 years to serve the needs of their community.
Pastor Mark’s enthusiasm for his work is truly infectious. Whether picking up produce from the Farm Fresh RI building or just talking about the pantry and his dreams for its future, he is never lacking in gratitude and excitement. Autumn similarly has a matching passion for the pantry. These two love serving their community; for them, this work is a calling. Autumn knows most of the names of the 200 families the pantry regularly serves and builds relationships with all their clients, even across language barriers.
With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, Pastor Mark and Autumn saw the pandemic’s impact on food security in their community and felt the need to do something to help their neighbors; thus, Pantry on the Lane was born. Since 2020, Pantry on the Lane has grown more than they ever predicted and has produced numerous fruitful partnerships and built a wonderful community.
Pantry on the Lane has been able to leverage social media to reach a vast audience of clients and supporters. The pantry’s Facebook page, managed by Autumn, has a large following and has allowed the pantry to connect with their clients as well as attract support from folks who want to help. Pastor Mark explains, “People wanted to do something good for others.” Pantry on the Lane turned this outpouring of support into tangible benefits for their community.
Hope’s Harvest and Pantry on the Lane first became partners at the beginning of the 2023 gleaning season. Pastor Mark made weekly Friday pick ups of Hope’s Harvest produce from the Farm Fresh RI building to stock their Saturday distributions with farm-fresh vegetables. Favorite crops among Pantry on the Lane clients include farm-fresh corn and local potatoes from Hope’s Harvest.
Hope’s Harvest donations allowed the pantry to offer a wider variety of fresh produce to their clients, beyond the staple crops they receive from the Food Bank. Pastor Mark explains that their clients love the fresh produce and that the increased variety of crops has helped the pantry reach a more diverse client base.
In 2023, Hope’s Harvest donated 15,265 pounds of fresh, local produce to Pantry on the Lane and will continue this fruitful partnership in 2024.
Pantry on the Lane serves on average 230 families every week during their four hour distribution on Saturdays. Each Friday and Saturday, 8-10 volunteers help out with preparing the pantry and stocking food on Fridays and with the food distributions on Saturdays.
Pantry on the Lane serves anybody and does not have income requirements. The focus client base is primarily Washington County residents but the pantry doesn’t turn people away. The pantry uses a shopping-style distribution system where clients are able to “shop” for the items they need, as opposed to being given a pre-made assortment of food.
The pantry is currently located at 70 Bowling Lane, down the street from Joy Fellowship Church, but will soon be moving around the corner into a former pizza place which offers a larger space, as well as the additional amenities of a full kitchen, pizza oven, and walk-in cooler. Pastor Mark is excited to expand into this new space and plans on also hosting other community events and services.
Thank you, Pantry on the Lane, Pastor Mark, and Autumn for being fantastic partners to Hope’s Harvest and for the great work you do feeding your neighbors and connecting clients to local, farm-fresh food.
