Living Faith Food Pantry is a ministry extension of Living Faith Church which exercises operational control. The Board of Elders appoints the Pastor as the Director of the Pantry to ensure compliance all governing policies and partnership agreements. This managerial role remains necessary for reasons of partnership accountability, fiscal control, and liability exposure. A management team, comprised largely of interested members of the community, has been established for the day-to-day operation of the Food Pantry’s distributions.

The Food Pantry has a Policy and Procedure Manual that guides the operations and helps to establish continuity over time and changing personnel. The team structure of operations management also diversifies responsibility, while broadening practical management experience. Finally, partnerships with the community and support organizations provide additional operational stability.

The Food Pantry is an equal opportunity provider that attempts to serve everyone who seeks food assistance in the Vernon County area. The population served includes elderly on fixes incomes, the under or marginally employed, disabled, medically impoverished, and those temporarily overwhelmed by financial circumstances. 6,613 households sought support from the Pantry in 2018. The Food Pantry is an Equal Opportunity Provider.

In 2018 an average of 49 pounds was received by each household per visit. This works out to about seven meals to each member of the household. A household may participate in as many as five distributions each month.

The pantry spent 18 cents per pound for the food it obtained in 2018. That works out to five pounds of food for each dollar donated. According to Feed America’s statistics, 2 ½ pounds of food is considered a meal. At 18 cents per pound, each dollar donated to the Pantry provided two quality meals for a hungry person. In contrast, a can of beans purchased for $1.30 and donated to the pantry would never constitute a quality meal for two people.
Many organizations conduct food drives on our behalf, and we greatly appreciate their interest in the pantry. Yet, a dollar donated to the pantry goes much farther because of the Pantry’s purchasing power through partner agency food sources.

Living Faith Food Pantry maintains its own bank accounts and is financially separate from the Church. All donations made to the Food Pantry are deposited directly into the Food Pantry Accounts. The Food Pantry does reimburse the Church for expenses it incurs related to its operations, such as utilities, snow removal, and insurance.

Living Faith Food Pantry is a community outreach ministry of Living Faith Church which has received a Tax Exemption designation from the IRS as a 501 (c) 3- Not for Profit Religious Organization. Donors receive donation receipts and year end statements.