The pantry is housed in the lower level of the Memorial United Methodist church; thus the name MUM. For decades the project was run by volunteer director Margarette Radabaugh, but after she became ill in the summer of 2020 the pantry had to be shut down.
Happily it was opened once again in March of 2021, and is now led by director, Bryan Bigness.
“It’s taken time to get the word out that we’re open again,” says the organization’s Jim Folker. “Now MUM is averaging over 100 families per month. In September of 2022, there were 144 families that came in to get groceries.”
Bigness says due to rising prices, the need for groceries from their food pantry has increased dramatically since the beginning of the year. ”For the first 11 months of 2022, MUM has provided groceries to 1,032 families for a total of 2,627 individuals. Client numbers have been increasing each month for the past six months. We operate a Choice food pantry which means clients gets to pick out their own groceries. The larger the family the more food a family will receive.”
Like most non-profits, MUM cannot continue without its dedicated volunteers. In this case, all of the volunteers live in the community. Coordinating the project on Tuesday mornings is volunteer Mary Rice who’s also responsible for keeping track of the inventory and making sure all of the food distributed meets date requirements. Rice says she enjoys the opportunity to help others. “Plus I really enjoy talking to all of our clients,” she says. “A day does not go by without a client telling me that they couldn’t get by without the MUM food pantry.”
Folker says Pastor Barbara Wiechel and the church members have been extremely supportive of the food pantry. “They continue to bring in non-perishable food to put on the shelves,” he says.
The pantry is always in need of donations and can always use unexpired non-perishable food, gift cards and financial support.
Here are some of the most needed items:
- Boxed Mashed potatoes
- Jiffy Muffin Mix
- Cereal
- Peanut Butter
- Jelly
- Pancake Syrup
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Shampoo
- Deodorant
- Paper towels
- Toilet paper
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrushes
Donations can be dropped off during the hours when the pantry is open: from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and from 5-8 p.m. on Thursdays at 26 N. Locust Street in West Carrollton at the corner of N. Locust Street and Main Street at Memorial United Methodist Church. Please enter on the Main Street parking lot side.
Other ways to help:
- Financial support can be mailed to 26 N. Locust St., West Carrollton, Ohio 45449, or can be sent electronically on the web site (www.memorialunitedmethodist.com) by clicking the DONATE tab.
- Check out MUM on their Facebook page: “MUM Food Pantry’' or the web site: www.memorialunitedmethodist.com.
- Those in need who have questions can contact Bryan at 937-249-0941 or mumfoodpantry@gmail.com.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Meredith Moss writes about Dayton-area nonprofit organizations and their specific needs. If your group has a wish list it would like to share with our readers, contact Meredith: meredith.moss@coxinc.com.
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Credit: Contributed
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