February 5, 2014 at 1:39 p.m.
Big crowd gathers for Ruby's Pantry kickoff event at Grace Foursquare Church
Big crowd gathers for Ruby's Pantry kickoff event at Grace Foursquare Church
By Kayla Thomason-
During the first half hour of the pantry's kickoff event at Grace Foursquare Church, Pastor Bob Messerli estimated between 100 and 125 people walked through the line.
Ruby's Pantry is a faith-based organization which distributes food all over Wisconsin and Minnesota. Each month they serve over 10,000 families and hand out a million pounds of groceries.
The food comes from companies who have a surplus.
"This is in conjunction with our local food pantry which is open four times [a week], people can go there twice a month to our local food pantry. Ruby's Pantry is a supplement, it's a once a month thing so it's not a competition or taking over," Messerli said. "People are hungry, people need food that live in our area."
The items being handed out Tuesday were bread, rolls, buns, potatoes, ice cream, popsicles and water.
Anyone can come to future Ruby's events no matter their income or family size but a $20 donation is requested for those receiving food. That money will go toward keeping the trucks running.
"I think for $20 per person for what they offer, the amount of food which is a considerable amount of food, some people would say 'is it going to be worth the $20?' Oh yeah, it will be well worth the $20," Messerli said.
The same amount and type of food is passed out to everyone who comes through the line. People can decline certain food but cannot request another food to take its place.
"We will pack the truck here for probably 300 families on our first distribution which means we will have 300 meat, 300 shares of frozen pizzas and things like that so we can't substitute for somebody one thing over the other," John Roe, who runs the Waupaca warehouse and distribution center for Ruby's Pantry, said.
Messerli said the pantry encourages people to share items with their neighbors.
Organizations such as churches, Oneida County Social Services, or Tri-County Women's Outreach to name a few, may pick up a voucher good for $20 worth of food to give to someone.
"There is also a little additive to Ruby's Pantry, which is called a Blessing Box. Ruby's Pantry will also allow us to pack six to eight boxes to keep throughout the month for [emergencies]," added pantry organizer Chrissy Peterson, who has been working for two years to bring the pantry to Rhinelander.
The Blessing Box will allow people who are in need of groceries to get food in their bellies.
"I think that caring for people, in the spirit of Christ, reaching out is what we are to be about," Messerli said.
Future pantry events will take place at Grace Foursquare Church every third Tuesday each month starting Feb. 18. Registration will begin at 4 p.m. Food distribution will start at 5 p.m. and continue until all the food is gone.
Registration involves making the $20 donation and receiving a number to go through the line.
About 50 volunteers will be needed on every distribution day to unload the truck, set up the tables and food, and keeping things organized.
"We call Ruby's Pantry a 'hand up' not a 'hand out,'" Roe said.
For more information, contact Grace Foursquare Church at (715) 362-5431 or visit Ruby's Pantry at www.rubyspantry.org.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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