Shepherd's Heart Food Pantry

Shepherd's Heart Food Pantry

Mission:

Our mission is to minister to the needs of the hungry within our city and nearby areas, targeting neighborhoods in North and East Waco. It is our desire to make an impact in our community by identifying needs and finding the resources to meet those needs by joining with and working together with local churches and other agencies and individuals to the extent that lives will be changed and people will learn, in practical ways, the love of God.

Every Thursday, canned goods, boxed and dry staple items, meats, and fresh fruits and vegetables are distributed at the Shepherds Heart Pantry from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Our clients can come and choose the items they need.
For added convenience, a drive-through service is available for the handicapped so they won’t have to stand in line; and a delivery service is available for homebound senior citizens or disabled who are not able to visit the distribution center.

Volunteer Duties:

Volunteers work together to stock shelves when we get our food delivery. This is usually done in the morning on those days. Once we get shelves stocked we prepare the boxes of food that will be delivered to the homebound, currently 115 folk and growing weekly. Additionally we prepare 125 sacks of groceries for the disabled who use our “drive through service”. We are currently serving 450 to 500 families on Thursday. It takes several volunteers and teamwork to get it done each week. We particularly need people who have about an hour and a half on Thursday who can help drive or be a helper to deliver groceries to the homebound. Currently, we are limited to the number of people we can assist due to the limited number of drivers available.

Volunteer Requirements:

Volunteers should be 18 and older and be able to pass a standard background check. It should be noted that our oldest volunteer is 90 years young and our youngest is 5 years old.

Training:

Training will be provided onsite. We use the "buddy system" where our volunteers with experience work together with the new people.

Time Commitment:

For most of the work, there really is no "time commitment." We are a total volunteer organization. We have several people who commit many hours of service. Some help stock shelves, while others help distribute food. There are different times of service and many different things to be done. We set the times of operation and people can work as they have time. We are grateful for all the assistance of our volunteers. We work together so that it makes the work easier.

Group Volunteering:

We enjoy it when groups come to volunteer. An ideal occasion is the third Saturday of each month. We have a mobile pantry that comes from the Capital Area Food Bank in Austin. We set it up in our parking lot where we serve 400 families from 10:00am to noon.

Recommended For:

We recommend volunteer service to everyone, no matter what your background may be. At Shepherd’s Heart you will find students working side by side with housewives, attorneys, bankers and other professionals who are giving back to the community. When we work together to give, we all benefit. It makes the community grow.

Benefits:

Contact Info:

The Shepherd’s Heart Pantry
1401 North 34th St. Waco, TX
Robert Gager, Executive Director
Phone: 254-722-9517
E-mail: shepherds.heart@yahoo.com
Website: www.shepherdsheartpantry.org