Skip to main content
Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk Humbly.
Director: (614) 488-0681 ext. 106
Manager: (614) 488-0681 ext. 203
hearttoheart@FCchurch.com
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Tuesdays 9am to 12pm
Thursdays 9am to 12pm
First Community South
1320 Cambridge Blvd. Columbus, OH 43212
Category

Weekly Update

April 25, 2020

By Weekly Update

Weekly Update

Prayer Requests

Do you know someone who needs a prayer or would you like to be placed on our Prayer Request list? Please click here to let us know.

Service Statistics

April 21 Tuesday: 46 households served
April 23, Thursday: 78 households served

News

Annual Report 2019

Click here to view our 2019 Annual Report.

March 2020

Click here to read our statistics from last month.

May Volunteers

The volunteer sign-up for May is now live online.

Something to Read

Read this article from The Columbus Dispatch: Supply chain disruptions hitting food pantries amid Coronavirus.

This Week

Thank you to Face Masks Ohio for supporting Heart to Heart with 20 Adult and 15 Child Face Masks! If you are interested in supporting and/or need face masks, please reach out to facemasksohio@gmail.com

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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

April 18, 2020

By Weekly Update

Weekly Update

Prayer Requests

Do you know someone who needs a prayer or would you like to be placed on our Prayer Request list? Please click here to let us know.

Service Statistics

April 14, Tuesday: 57 households served
April 16, Thursday: 40 households served

News

This Week

The first picture is Sandy Pfening and Margie Tarpy serving clients through our drive-in pantry. The last picture is Steve Young helping to unload over 7,900 lbs of food from MidOhio this past Monday.

Monthly Order

Click to view the order from Mid-Ohio Foodbank for April 2020.

Share & Learn Gardens

Update from Cheryl VanDeusen:

We have used some of the grant money to build the new pollinator bed that we had written the original grand for last fall. John Oberlin and Mike Cox, builders extraordinaries, built it and used dirt from our own compost pile to fill it. Loren had plants started in the basement and we will use state and CDC safety guidelines when we start this year’s crops. It is even more important that we get fresh produce grown for Heart to Heart.

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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

April 11, 2020

By Weekly Update

Weekly Update

Prayer Requests

Do you know someone who needs a prayer or would you like to be placed on our Prayer Request list? Please click here to let us know.

Service Statistics

April 7, Tuesday: 42 households served
April 9, Thursday: 51 households served

News

COVID-19 Updates

Amid the ever-changing news regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, we have established a page on the website where you will find regular updates as they are announced. A link to this page will be on the left side of the menu permanently. We will continue to post these announcements on social media and via email, as well.

Read Latest Update (04-09-2020)

Columbus Public Health has compiled a list of resources available to Franklin County residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here for Resource List

Help Wanted

We need help unloading lots of food this coming Monday from MidOhio Foodbank! Click here to sign up.

Please note: Everyone is now required to wear a mask or face covering of some sort. Please bring face mask with you. Gloves will be provided.

New Partner

We would like to thank our new partner, Meijer, for their recent donations through Mid Ohio Food Collective!

Many Thanks

Recently we had to move all the dry food stored in Lincoln Road Chapel from the basement to the main room, and some into the pantry. This project was a huge undertaking and would not have been possible without help from some strong volunteers! We owe a huge shoutout to Sam McCollum for bringing his brother Curtis, and some friends from Camp Akita to volunteer for this monumental task. Major thanks also to Wade Melnick President of the Tri-Village Rotary for bringing out members of his club along with their families. See before and after photos below.

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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

Announcement: COVID-19 UPDATE

By Weekly Update

Every year, the eligibility requirements change for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). In the state of Ohio, a family of 3 can make $42,659 in a year as of today. Well, that was the case until COVID-19. Now, a family of 3 can make $49,059 in year. As this number has gone up, it is a sign our number of clients could increase as well. Our average family size we serve at Heart to Heart is a single mom with at least 2 children.

Over the past three weeks, we have seen a spike in the number of clients served. Most of the clients we saw this month received food from us before. At the same time, there was a surge in the number of new families who visited us with a total number of 161 households. This year, for the month of March, we served 522 households with a total number of 1,929 individuals. In March 2019, we served 422 households with a total number of 1,433 individuals.

When we first saw how more restrictions were being enforced, we knew we would have to make some changes on how we traditionally serve our clients. Normally, we would allow our clients to come inside the pantry at (1944 W. First Ave) to choose which foods they would like to have for their families. However, with the new restrictions we went to a drive-in system to pre-package all of our clients food. We divided all our pre-packaged bags to reflect either 1 to 4-person family or a family of 5 or more. Families of 1 to 4 select 2 bags of food with  items such as canned soups, canned veggies, toiletry items, and separate bags for produce and refrigeration items. Families with 5 or more people will get 3 bags with the same type food, only more. Inside these bags we also placed resources for various food pantries, bus routes to get to these places, and helpful information for family resources.

I’m very grateful for my team (The Task Force) who created this awesome plan and help to make things run smoothly. They are: Addair Levine, Janice Rook, Michael Delphia, and Melody Smiley. Their hard work came at a time that is much needed to ensure all our clients are being served safely and orderly as well as volunteers being safe.

The outpouring of support from the community has been nothing short of amazing. We appreciate everyone’s response to this crisis. We have appreciated your prayers, your food and monetary donations, volunteer support, etc. We have been truly blessed and will continue to do this very important and needed work for as long as we can.

To Learn more about TEFAP and how this affects our clients, click here.

If you would like to volunteer at Heart to Heart please click here. Please note: everyone is now required to wear a mask or face covering of some sort. Please bring face mask with you to volunteer. Gloves will be provided.

Lamar Graham | Heart to Heart Director
First Community | Where Everyone is Accepted

1320 Cambridge Boulevard, Columbus, Ohio 43212
(614) 488-0681, Ext. 203
(614) 488-2763 Fax

lgraham@FCchurch.com
FCchurch.com | H2H.FCchurch.com

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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

April 4, 2020

By Weekly Update

Weekly Update

Prayer Requests

Larry Miller
Tom Norman
John Oberlin
Bryan Smith
Charlie Vachris and Judy Long

Service Statistics

March 31, Tuesday: 61
April 2, Thursday: 47

News

Announcements

Hello, Dedicated Volunteers,

I know some of you are worried during this time if you should commit more time to Heart to Heart physically or not. I want you to know that I understand completely if you are unable to volunteer during this time of Social Distancing. There will be no hard feelings if you need to take a step back and be close to family.

Lamar Graham
Heart to Heart Director

Amid the ever-changing news regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, we have established a page on the website where you will find regular updates as they are announced. A link to this page will be on the left side of the menu permanently. We will continue to post these announcements on social media and via email, as well.

Heart to Heart COVID-19 Updates

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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

March 28, 2020

By Weekly Update

Weekly Update

Prayer Requests

Tom Norman

Service Statistics

March 24, Tuesday: 60
March 26, Thursday: 66

News

In The News

Click above to see the full video and view the entire story about Heart to Heart from NBC Channel 4.

Photos From This Week

Volunteers John and Sarah Oberlin and Kitty Rohrer serving clients though our drive in system.

Pictured here are Kitty Rohrer and John Oberlin taking care of our clients.

Additional Resources from MOFB

Something To Read

Stuck at home with nothing to do? Read this article for some ideas.

Announcements

Amid the ever-changing news regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, we have established a page on the website where you will find regular updates as they are announced. A link to this page will be on the left side of the menu permanently. We will continue to post these announcements on social media and via email, as well.

Heart to Heart COVID-19 Updates

How You Can Help

Five things you can do to help us at Heart to Heart:

1. Volunteer with us! Click the link below to sign up. If you aren’t able to volunteer physically maybe you can write encouraging cards.

2. Give funds. Please click button below to contribute directly to Heart to Heart. For every $1 we spend at Mid-Ohio Food Collective we can get $10 worth of groceries for distribution to our clients.

3. Take care of yourself. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup! Stay informed with accurate information on the Ohio Department of Health website here. If you have questions regarding Coronavirus/COVID-19 please call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634)

4. Contribute food at 1944 W. First Ave in our bin outside the door. Please note:

  • We are NOT accepting any food BEYOND the expiration date or BEYOND best used by date. The best times to donate food to our bin are Monday 9-10 am and Wednesday 3-4 pm.
  • Due to possible exposure of COVID-19 through the usage of used plastic, paper, and reusable cloth, we are NO LONGER accepting any bag donations.

5. Pray for our world, country, community, and our families. If there was ever a time to pray, the time is now.

If you have any questions about Heart to Heart at this time, please call 614-488-0681 ext. 203

Donate Online Here

Hello Dedicated Volunteers,

I know some of you are worried during this time if you should commit more time to Heart to Heart physically or not. I want you to know that I understand completely if you are unable to volunteer during this time of Social Distancing. There will be no hard feelings if you need to take a step back and be close to family.

Lamar Graham
Heart to Heart Director

Volunteer Sign Up Here

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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

Announcement: COVID-19 Plan REVISED 3-20-20

By Weekly Update

Change in Process at Heart to Heart Food Pantry

Alternative Service Plan

The health and well-being of our clients, volunteers and staff are top priorities for us here at the Heart to Heart. To that end, Heart to Heart will move from its current shopping model to pre-packaged boxes until further notice.
The plan upon arrival at Heart to Heart:
  • Clients will be asked to stay in their vehicles and a volunteer will help line up cars on the curb along First Avenue.
  • A volunteer will register clients for the pantry while they remain in their cars.
  • Clients will be directed where to drive up and receive pre-packaged boxes.*
  • Clients will then exit by driving past the front of First Community South onto Cambridge Blvd.
*Please note the following:
1. Clients will be only be able to shop for themselves and one other family and/or friend per day
Those people should fall under the “High Risk” category:
  • Persons over 65
  • Persons with chronic medical conditions: Diabetes, Chronic lung disease, cancer, etc.
2. Case managers will only be able to shop for two families per day.
In the interest of keeping human contact to an absolute minimum, what the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) calls “social distancing,” we believe that this is the safest course of action to take moving forward, especially during these challenging times.
3. All of our clients/proxy shoppers can shop once every 30 days.
We so appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we all look out for one another during this public health threat and as this situation continues to unfold. Please check in on each other, take care of each other, and pray for each other.
If you are interested and able to volunteer during this time, please view the Sign Up Genius online here. All volunteers will be asked to take their temperatures upon arrival to serve. If they have a fever above 100, they will be sent home.
At this point, our plan will be to continue to serve in this capacity until we are ordered to close.
Thank you,

Lamar Graham | Heart to Heart Director
First Community | Where Everyone is Accepted

1320 Cambridge Boulevard, Columbus, Ohio 43212
(614) 488-0681, Ext. 203
(614) 488-2763 Fax

lgraham@FCchurch.com
FCchurch.com | H2H.FCchurch.com

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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

March 21, 2020

By Weekly Update

Weekly Update

Announcements

Amid the ever-changing news regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, we have established a page on the website where you will find regular updates as they are announced. A link to this page will be on the left side of the menu permanently. When we have a new announcment it will appear highlighted in red to alert you to read more. We will continue to post these announcements on social media and via email, as well. Read the latest announcement from Director, Lamar Graham.

Service Statistics

March 10, Tuesday: 55
March 12, Thursday: 44

 

March 17, Tuesday: 92
March 19, Thursday: 63

Prayer Requests

Tom Norman

Service Statistics

In the month of February, we served

  • 337 Households
  • 201 Seniors
  • 601 Adults
  • 434 Children
  • 1,236 Individuals

Click here for the full list of statistics from last month.

Volunteer of the Month

The spotlight is on Bob Argo for March. Click here to read the post.

Bob Argo

News

Drive-Thru Service

This week was a busy yet productive one as we rolled out our new “Drive-Thru” system. We served 155 households! Normally, we serve between 100-160 households in a week. Thank you for all of your hard work and contributions. Please enjoy photos from this past week and stay tuned for more information in preparation for this coming week.

Preparations of pre-packaged groceries.

New drive-thru service in action.

Mental Health Resources

While we don’t like to think about it, with increased stress comes things like increased depression, increased domestic violence, and increased suicide. Please make sure you have the following numbers available to give people if they need them or if you feel you might need them yourself. Know there is always help, there are people to listen, and you are worth any effort. You matter to God and you certainly matter to us.

  • NetCare Crisis Hotline (Mental Health Emergencies) 614- 276-2273
  • National Suicide Prevention Hotline- 1-800-273-TALK
  • If you are quarantined with an abuser, or someone you know is isolated in a dangerous home situation, please reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org.

How You Can Help

As we served this week we seen many people step up in a huge way! Many volunteers came to help us out on what was our first rodeo of our “Drive-Thru” system. We saw many people who were doing their morning run and/or walk stop to tell us thank you for continuing to serve our clients. Our clients were also super appreciative, telling us repeatedly, “Thank you for being here”.

As prepare for this coming week we at Heart to Heart would like to say to you, our wonderful volunteers and stakeholders: Thank you for being here. All of your support makes it possible for us to give our clients high-quality service.

We have received several inquiries about how folks can best help out during this uncertain time. These are some things you can do:

  1. Give of your time volunteer with us! Click the link below to sign up. If you aren’t able to volunteer physically maybe you can write encouraging cards. We have lots of students who helps us with this throughout the year. Often our youth will write and/or draw fun, simple, cool, and witty ways to encourage our clients.
  2. Give funds. Please see this link below to contribute directly to Heart to Heart. For every $1 we spend at MidOhio Foodbank we can get $10 worth of groceries for distribution to our clients.
  3. Take care of yourself. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup! Stay informed with accurate information on the Ohio Department of Health website here. If you have questions regarding Coronavirus/COVID-19 please call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634)
  4. Lastly, pray. Pray for our world, country, community, and our families. If there was ever a time to pray, the time is now.

Thank you for your support as we get through this challenging time together.

For now, we plan to remain in our altered state of operation unless we are ordered to close our doors. In that event, we will inform the public via our website and social media platforms.

Donate Online Here
Volunteer Sign Up Here

Cookie Donation

Kristin Unalan of Girl Scout Troop 1444 donated 107 boxes of cookies on Wednesday. This troop of third-graders are from Barrington Elementary in Upper Arlington.

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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

Announcement: COVID-19 Plan

By Weekly Update

Change in Process at Heart to Heart Food Pantry

Alternative Service Plan

 

The health and well-being of our clients, volunteers and staff are top priorities for us here at the Heart to Heart. To that end, Heart to Heart will move from its current shopping model to pre-packaged boxes, beginning Tuesday, March 17, 2020 until further notice.
The plan upon arrival at Heart to Heart:
  • Clients will be asked to stay in their vehicles and a volunteer will help line up cars on the curb along First Avenue.
  • A volunteer will register clients for the pantry while they remain in their cars.
  • Clients will pull up op to the Heart to Heart building and receive pre-packaged boxes based on family size. *
  • Clients will then exit by driving past the front of First Community South onto Cambridge Blvd.
*Please note the following:
1. Clients will only be able to shop for themselves and one other family member.
Family members should fall under the “High Risk” category:
  • Persons over 65
  • Persons with chronic medical conditions: Diabetes, Chronic lung disease, cancer, etc.
2. Case managers will only be able to shop for two families.
In the interest of keeping human contact to an absolute minimum, what the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) calls “social distancing,” we believe that this is the safest course of action to take moving forward, especially during these challenging times.
We so appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we all look out for one another during this public health threat and as this situation continues to unfold. Please check in on each other, take care of each other, and pray for each other.
If you are interested and able to volunteer during this time, please view the Sign Up Genius online here.
Thank you,

Lamar Graham | Heart to Heart Director
First Community | Where Everyone is Accepted

1320 Cambridge Boulevard, Columbus, Ohio 43212
(614) 488-0681, Ext. 203
(614) 488-2763 Fax

lgraham@FCchurch.com
FCchurch.com | H2H.FCchurch.com

And what does the Lord
require of you
But to do justly,
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