I’m pleased to be part of the crew that unloads the truck from MOFB. Moreover, I’m happy to be slinging the boxes. The pantry has various jobs. Putting things away and organizing isn’t my strong suit. My grandfather asked me a question when I was 12 or 13. He asked, “Charles do you know the best way to kill time?” I told him that I didn’t know. He responded, “work it to death.” I believe that Heart to Heart is a worthy cause. When I’m volunteering, I’m just killing time.
Households served via Drive-Thru
Households served via Pop-Up
We send our deepest condolences to our friend, Melody Smiley. Her husband, Matt, passed away this past week, after a long illness. In his final days, he was surrounded by a loving community and his family including Melody and their six children. Melody has volunteered with Heart to Heart for over a decade, and with First Community Church even longer. Please send your prayers to their entire family. As soon as they are available, we will share memorial arrangements with volunteers wanting to pay their respects.
We still need help with some shifts next week. The number of volunteers needed is indicated in parathesis after the shift time and description.
Monday, January 31
9:30 am – 11 am Stocking Shift (1)
Set-up shift canceled- this week only.
Tuesday, February 1
8:30 am – 10:30 am Drive-Thru (2)
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Drive-Thru (7)
Wednesday, February 2
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Mid-Ohio Foodbank Shop Thru (1)
Thursday, February 3
8:30 am – 10:30 am Drive-Thru (5)
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Drive-Thru (4)
Friday, February 4
9:30 am – 10:30 am Cold Stocking (2)
Volunteers, mark your calendars. More information coming soon.
Virtual Volunteer Event
Thursday, March 10, 2022, at 6 pm
Zoom Meeting
Columbus Arts Festival
June 10-12, 2022
At the riverfront in the Arena District
And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justice,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly
with your God?
Micah 6:8 NKJ
Our mission at Heart to Heart is to respond to God’s commandment to love one another.
Our vision of Heart to Heart is to model God’s love by:
Cultivating a loving community
Honoring individual gifts
Feeding bodies and souls
…and seeing everyone as a child of God
In accordance with Federal law and U.S.D.A. policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability.
Households served via Drive-Thru
Households served via Pop-Up
Total Served: 99
We still need help with some shifts next week. The number of volunteers needed is indicated in parathesis after the shift time and description.
Monday, January 24
8:45 am – 9:45 am Cold Stocking Shift (2)
9:30 am – 11 am Stocking Shift (1)
10:00 am – 11 am Mid-Ohio Foodbank Shop-Thru (1)
3:30 pm- 5:00 pm MOFB Truck Unloading (7)
Tuesday, January 25
8:30 am – 10:30 am Drive-Thru (3)
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Drive-Thru (4)
Wednesday, January 26
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Mid-Ohio Foodbank Shop Thru (1)
Thursday, January 27
8:30 am – 10:30 am Drive-Thru (5)
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Drive-Thru (4)
Friday, January 28
9:30 am – 10:30 am Cold Stocking (2)
10:00 am – 11:30 am Pre-shop (1)
Click to enlarge
Volunteers, mark your calendars. More information coming soon.
Virtual Volunteer Event
Thursday, March 10, 2022, at 6 pm
Zoom Meeting
Columbus Arts Festival
June 10-12, 2022
At the riverfront in the Arena District
In the early days of the pandemic, a small team of Heart to Heart volunteers got together in fellowship and began discussions about the need to help families with food insecurity during uncertain times. While Heart to Heart quickly transitioned from a walk-in service to a new drive-through service, fewer families were coming to the pantry. Knowing that our pantry was blessed with an abundance of food and that food insecurity was growing, we felt determined to find a way to help more families. Recognizing transportation might be a barrier to coming to the drive-through service, we envisioned a mobile pantry that would take our food directly to families in their local communities.
With this vision in mind, our six founding volunteers developed a proposal for a new outreach ministry of Heart to Heart. Our plan was to deliver food items from our pantry to various sites in Columbus by partnering with local human service agencies. Through the support of Heart to Heart’s Director and with the blessing of Dr. Miles, the Pop Up Pantry was created in July of 2020.
The Pop Up Pantry began by delivering food to an agency site one day a week. Our small team of volunteers worked through new processes for bagging food while maintaining pandemic safety precautions of masking and social distancing. To further ensure a safe environment, food was bagged outside through the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter months. Additional volunteers were recruited to help with driving the church van and unloading bags of food at the sites. By the end of 2020, the Pop Up Pantry outreach ministry had delivered food to 745 families at our agency sites.
In addition to delivering food weekly in our first year, the Pop Up Pantry coordinated a Christmas toy and gift drive for children of the families at Southpoint Village Apartments (Southpoint), one of our agency sites. Southpoint is a supported housing complex servicing those with disabling mental illness, chemical dependence, and chronic homelessness. We were fortunate for the opportunity to partner with Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School, whose students, families, and staff generously donated many of the toys and gifts. We were also blessed by donations from Guild Groups D and RSZ, Share and Learn Garden, church families, and friends. These donations truly made Christmas wishes come true for the children at Southpoint!
During 2021, the Pop Up Pantry was able to expand to two days a week, adding new agency sites and volunteers. Balancing safety with pandemic surges during the year continued to be an important priority. Our small team of volunteers worked diligently throughout the year, managing a large workload each week. Through the ongoing commitment of our founding volunteers and the dedication of our volunteer team, the Pop Up Pantry served 1,714 families last year.
In 2021, the Pop Up Pantry held its second annual Christmas toy and gift drive for families of children at Southpoint. At the start of the drive, families identified “wish lists” of gifts for their children. For the second year in a row, 100% of these “wish lists” were fulfilled enabling us to provide 172 gifts for 86 children. We are thankful for the generosity and goodwill of students, families, and staff at Wickliffe, church groups, and friends again this past year.
Our calling has gone beyond the provision of food from the pantry at our agency sites. In addition to our gift drive for Southpoint, volunteers have collected and delivered clothing items for Hope Resource Center (Hope). Hope provides compassionate care to those living with addiction and the resources needed to enrich and transform their lives. Many of those served by Hope are also experiencing chronic homelessness. Additionally, our six founding members made monetary donations last year in honor of our van drivers to Hope and Riverview International Center (RIC). RIC helps New Americans with meeting their basic needs, strengthening families, and a nurturing community.
Since its inception, over 2,400 families have been served through the Pop Up Pantry. We’re so very grateful for our partner agencies who’ve enabled us to reach out to these families. These agencies include National Church Residences, Hope Resource Center, Franklinton Farms, and Riverview International Center.
We’re blessed by our church family and the groups who work with us to support the Pop Up Pantry and the communities we serve. The Share and Learn Garden team has provided nutritious produce during the growing season. The Monday Night Meals team has provided leftover bread items and desserts each week. In addition, the Trading Post has donated clothing to Hope and the Mat Maker group has made many mats for Hope. We could not serve our families without the ongoing efforts of our wonderful team of volunteers and support from Heart to Heart’s leadership.
This journey has brought us many blessings in serving others with grace and compassion as God calls us to do. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the opportunities the Pop Up Pantry has provided to us. We look forward to continuing to serve and expand this outreach ministry in the New Year.
Blessings,
Carla Edlefson
Kathleen Hatcher
Rose Kandel
Kitty Rohrer
Janice Rook
Melody Smiley
And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justice,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly
with your God?
Micah 6:8 NKJ
Our mission at Heart to Heart is to respond to God’s commandment to love one another.
Our vision of Heart to Heart is to model God’s love by:
Cultivating a loving community
Honoring individual gifts
Feeding bodies and souls
…and seeing everyone as a child of God
In accordance with Federal law and U.S.D.A. policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability.
Households served via Drive-Thru
Households served via Pop-Up
Total Served: 141
Volunteers, mark your calendars. More information coming soon.
Virtual Volunteer Event
Thursday, March 10, 2022, at 6 pm
Zoom Meeting
Columbus Arts Festival
June 10-12, 2022
At the riverfront in the Arena District
We still need help with some shifts next week. The number of volunteers needed is indicated in parathesis after the shift time and description.
Tuesday, January 18
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Drive-Thru (4)
Wednesday, January 19
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Mid-Ohio Foodbank Shop Thru (1)
Thursday, January 20
8:00 am – 9:00 am Mid-Ohio Foodbank Shop Thru (1)
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Drive-Thru (2)
Friday, January 21
9:45am – 11:00am Cold Stocking (2)
10:00 am – 11:30 am Pre-shop (1)
The following are dates Heart to Heart will be closed for all volunteer and client service activity in 2022:
Please mark your calendars and plan accordingly.
And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justice,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly
with your God?
Micah 6:8 NKJ
Our mission at Heart to Heart is to respond to God’s commandment to love one another.
Our vision of Heart to Heart is to model God’s love by:
Cultivating a loving community
Honoring individual gifts
Feeding bodies and souls
…and seeing everyone as a child of God
In accordance with Federal law and U.S.D.A. policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability.
We understand there is growing concern about the rise in COVID cases as Omicron sweeps through our community. We want to remind you of CDC guidelines to protect yourself from this virus. First Community and Heart to Heart have been erring on the side of extreme caution and we ask you to do the same, even though the CDC recommendations have become more lenient. For example,
When you are volunteering at Heart to Heart,
Please visit Columbus Public Health for more information about COVID online, including sites for vaccine clinics and testing.
We understand that these precautions are numerous and sometimes onerous. However, it is in our best interest to keep one another healthy! Please help us to do so by adhering to these recommendations. We pray for your health during this time of uncertainty.
“Jesus said to him… ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.’” (Matthew 22: 35-40).
She is a senior at OSU and a Marine Option Midshipman in Naval ROTC, who can often be found checking in neighbors during our drive-thru. Prior to that role, Emma did a lot of stocking and shopping for the pantry. Her poised leadership, patience, and adaptability continue to impress. The regular volunteers for her shifts have welcomed her as part of their family, more of which you can read about in her own words here:
I started volunteering at Heart to Heart in fall 2019 with a student group from Ohio State. I really enjoyed the environment and people at Heart to Heart so I began signing up on my own. Since my class schedule changes each semester, I’ve gotten to sign up for the pantry, shopping, restocking, and unloading meat. The past few semesters, I’ve loved volunteering during the Tuesday morning pantry. The group of volunteers at this shift have become like my family away from home and I am incredibly grateful for them.
It has also been a very rewarding experience to check-in regular and new clients and to see the impact of everyone’s hard work throughout the week. I’m looking forward to meeting more volunteers and continuing to help the Columbus community with this great organization!
Heart to Heart will be closed in observance of these holidays, and the pantry will be closed for volunteer shifts. These are not regular service days for clients.
We will be closed for all client service hours and volunteer shifts on the following dates. Please plan accordingly.
Heart to Heart will make every attempt to remain open during regular business hours unless there is a Level 2 Snow Emergency in Franklin County, an active thunderstorm, or an official Tornado Warning in our area. In the event we are closed, we will make note on our voicemail, on our Facebook page and here on our webpage. Volunteers for the day will be notified via email as soon as a decision to close has been made.
Heart to Heart will make every attempt to remain open during regular business hours, unless Franklin County reaches a level 4 purple alert status. In the event we are closed, we will make note on our voicemail, on our Facebook page and on our webpage.
Heart to Heart does not distribute Thanksgiving Baskets in the pantry. Read more>>
Announcements will be made regarding our holiday assistance programs in October.
Please refer to LSS 211 (formerly HandsOn) for additional holiday assistance programs.
Households served via Drive-Thru
Households served via Pop-Up
Click here to view our complete service and volunteer statistics for December.
Some shifts have been changed and added in the New Year. Details are on the Sign Up Genius. Please click the lightbulb below to view and sign up!
Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Month for January, Emma Ponitz. Read what Emma has to say about volunteering with us here.
All, you may have heard that the CDC has updated their policies with respect to quarantine and isolation. The chart here details the new guidelines which we will follow.
Masks provide one of the best means of protection. We want to continue to stringently enforce the mask mandate, especially during worship and other gatherings. There is now quite a lot of information about the type of mask that is the most effective, mostly due to the highly contagious Omicron variant. Obviously, the best is the N95, followed by the disposable blue surgical masks. A cloth mask does not provide much protection. You may want to think about what kind of mask you are wearing, especially if you are in a public setting around people for more than 15 minutes. I have gone to wearing the N95 mask in church and when I go to events. I will wear a cloth mask if I am walking in a hallway from my office or in a store. Why you should upgrade your mask as the Omicron variant spreads – CNN
Lastly, because of the mask mandate, we do not want to be providing any [served] food or refreshments. Not because there can be transmission from the preparation of the food, but because people will be unmasked while consuming the food or drink. We hope we can lift this requirement once the surge is behind us.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Be safe and have a Happy New Year!
Paul R. Anderson, CPA, CAP
Executive Director of Operations, First Community Church
Click image to enlarge.
Starting this year, we will do our best to provide order information prior to its arrival at Heart to Heart. We hope this will help you understand our processes, food budget, and challenges.
The Pop Up Pantry team delivered food directly to families at the following agency sites during the month of December:
Monthly totals for 2021:
The Pop Up Pantry was created in July of 2020. The vision of our six founding volunteers was to expand Heart to Heart’s outreach to families within their local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2021, our volunteer team served food to a total of 1714 families. Since it’s inception, over 2400 families have been served through the Pop Up Pantry. We are grateful for the agencies who’ve worked with us to reach out to these families, including National Church Residences, Hope Recovery Services, Franklinton Farms and Riverview International Center.
In addition to weekly food deliveries, the Pop Up Pantry conducted its second annual Christmas gift and toy drive for the children of families at Southpoint Village Apartments, one of our agency sites. Southpoint is a supported housing complex for those with disabling mental illness, chemical dependence or chronic homelessness. At the start of the drive, families identified “wish lists” of toys and gifts for their children.
Again this year, 100% of the “wish lists” of gifts were fulfilled thanks to the generosity and goodwill of students, families and staff at Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School as well as Women’s Guild Groups D and RSZ, Share and Learn Garden, church members and friends. 172 toys and gifts for 86 children were delivered by the Pop Up Pantry team to the families at Southpoint. In addition, we were blessed to receive several monetary donations which enabled us to purchase gift cards for all 27 families who participated in the gift drive.
Under the capable leadership of Rose Kandel, the Pop Up Pantry team members, who worked tirelessly to coordinate this Christmas initiative, were Carla Edlefson, Kathleen Hatcher, Kitty Rohrer, Janice Rook, Melody Smiley and Mark Tucker. We are grateful for the assistance of Sarah Oberlin and Amy Miller, who coordinated the drive at Wickliffe, as well as our church family and friends who helped to make Christmas wishes come true for these children.
Also in December, Pop Up Pantry founding volunteers made monetary donations to two of our agency sites, Hope Recovery Services and Riverview International Center. These donations were made in honor of our wonderful volunteers who drive the church van and transport food each week to our sites: Glenn Zook, Steve Young, Mark Tucker, Boyce Lancaster and Leslie Sauer.
In January, our Pop Up Pantry will be delivering food to our agency sites on the following dates:
Through the ongoing support and commitment of our volunteers and the church, we look forward to continuing to serve and expand this outreach ministry of Heart to Heart during 2022.
On January 17, we celebrate the lasting impact of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. The church will be closed for the holiday, and for a few Monday holidays thereafter. In 2021, we developed an alternative schedule that allows us to have the holiday off while still being prepared to serve clients on the following Tuesdays.
We understand not everyone who regularly volunteers on Mondays and Fridays will be able to make the change to their own schedules. However, the holidays are so few that we are able to make it work! We will cancel all shifts Monday, January 17, and add the following:
The following are dates Heart to Heart will be closed for all volunteer and client service activity in 2022:
And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justice,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly
with your God?
Micah 6:8 NKJ
Our mission at Heart to Heart is to respond to God’s commandment to love one another.
Our vision of Heart to Heart is to model God’s love by:
Cultivating a loving community
Honoring individual gifts
Feeding bodies and souls
…and seeing everyone as a child of God
In accordance with Federal law and U.S.D.A. policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability.
