Open House This Saturday
The Natural Bridge/Glasgow Food Pantry is celebrating 30 years of service to families in southern Rockbridge County.
In recognition of the milestone, the food pantry will be holding an open house celebration this Saturday, July 18, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the pantry, located at 735 Mc-Culloch St. in Glasgow.
Last year the pantry served a total of 1,936 families with over 50,000 pounds of food.
“This is a great example of how neighbors helping neighbors can make the whole community better,” said Glasgow Town Manager Mike Finchum.
Recognizing the need to address the issue of food insecurity in southern Rockbridge County, the pantry was created in the early 1990s by members of Beth Horon United Methodist Church, High Bridge Presbyterian Church, and Natural Bridge Christian Fellowship.
Becoming certified as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit in 1996, the pantry moved from the shuttered Natural Bridge High School into the old St. Clair’s Drugstore at 735 McCullough St. and has operated continuously without interruption ever since.
The food pantry provides supplemental food assistance to those in need in the Glasgow, Natural Bridge Station, and Arnolds Valley areas of southern Rockbridge County.
Families qualify for assistance in accordance with guidelines provided by the USDA’s Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Roughly half the food the pantry provides is either purchased from or provided by the USDA, with the other half donated from local organizations such as Food Lion, Walmart and area churches. Additionally, Hunters for the Hungry donates roughly 500 pounds of quality fresh venison annually. The pantry also benefits greatly from a large, canned food donation collected annually by the Natural Bridge State Park dur-
ABOVE, volunteers with the Natural Bridge/Glasgow Food Pantry sort donated food at the pantry located in the old St. Clair’s Drugstore in Glasgow. Pictured are Crissy Rogers, Brenda Shafer and Jenny Austing on the left, and Linda Walker in the foreground to the right. AT LEFT, Dave VanOsten, Jenny Austin and Linda Walker unload donations from a truck.
ing its holiday Festival of Trees event. The food pantry relies entirely upon private financial donations for funding.
All of this is managed through a consortium of 16 area churches. A board of directors and many volunteers provide thousands of hours of service each year, ensuring the smooth and continuous operation of the pantry over the last three decades.
There are roughly 25 pantry volunteers who are critical for picking up food donations, unloading trucks, inventorying incoming donations, building food boxes for weekly distribution to clients, and managing the administrative requirements associated with working with the USDA and managing the operation.
Current board President John Pollock stated, “This operation couldn’t have been so successful over the past 30 years without its dedicated volunteers.”
On June 9 the Glasgow Town Council adopted a resolution recognizing the Natural Bridge/Glasgow Food Pantry for its 30 years of dedicated service to the area and proclaimed its support and commitment to its continued efforts in addressing food insecurity in southern Rockbridge County.
The food pantry is open from 9 to 11 a.m. on the first, second and fourth Saturdays of each month, as well as the third Thursday of the month.
VOLUNTEERS with the Natural Bridge/Glasgow Food Pantry include (from left) Linda Walker, Crissy Rogers, Jane Shafer, Carol Tolley, Jenny Austin, Brenda Shafer, Judy Loughead, Connie Powell, Blaine Shafer and Dave VanOsten.
GLASGOW MAYOR Paul Williams (second from right) presents Natural Bridge/Glasgow Food Pantry President John Pollock with a resolution from Town Council in recognition of the anniversary. With them are volunteers Scott Hannah, Dave VanOsten and Crissy Rogers.
