It’s a Monday at 1:00 pm at Barnabas Center on Jasmine Street in Fernandina Beach. The main door to the Barnabas Food Pantry, located on the west side of the building, is buzzing with activity. Everyone waiting in the line to enter the pantry has something in common: They are in need of food to feed themselves and their families.
The people in this line represent some of the faces of hunger and food insecurity in Nassau County. It is estimated that 1 of 6 adults and 1 of 4 children in our community is hungry or does not know when or how they will get their next meal.
To help alleviate hunger and food insecurity, Barnabas provides an average of 14,000 pounds of nutritious food each month to nearly 400 households through the newly adopted client choice model, which is growing trend in community food pantries across the country.
The client choice model puts the food selection process directly in the hands of people who are receiving food assistance from Barnabas. The food pantry is now configured as a small grocery store, complete with full-size grocery carts. Volunteers walk with clients along neatly stacked foods on shelves and a refrigerator and a freezer filled with fresh and frozen items, helping them select only the foods they want.
Pantry assistant Dan Gechter (right) helps Barnabas food program client Stan Jones navigate the new client choice format.
“We were seeking ways to improve our food pantry program to best meet the nutritional and dietary needs of individual and families who struggle to make ends meet each month,” said Wanda Lanier, Barnabas CEO. “In the past, we handed our clients a standard prepared bag of shelf-stable foods, without considering which foods they wanted or could eat. Our new client choice program has proven to be beneficial for our clients, who are often reluctant to ask for help in the first place. This approach helps our clients maintain their sense of dignity when they need food from our pantry.”
Feeding Northeast Florida, a regional food bank, supplies Barnabas with bulk produce, meat and dairy products for a minimal cost. Feeding Northeast Florida’s fresh and frozen items total approximately 75 percent of Barnabas’ food pantry stock. Shelf-stable items from community donations, such as peanut butter, and canned meats and vegetables, also fill the pantry shelves.
“Barnabas is always there for me,” said Stan Jones, a local man who has benefitted from the food pantry and other Barnabas programs, including help paying his rent and electricity bills. “I’ve counted on Barnabas for the past few years. This new way to get my monthly food is much better than receiving pre-selected food. Now I get to choose what I like to eat.”
Jones is excited about his selection of foods that particular Monday, especially the two large bags of sweet potatoes the volunteer helps him put into his shopping cart.
“My landlady is making me two sweet potato pies, using her special family recipe,” he said. “I’m going to help her in the kitchen and can’t wait to eat one of my favorites from when I was a kid. Giving me the choice of foods I can and want to eat has been great.”
“Our pantry now focuses on a win-win approach, including reducing the amount of food wasted and offering a dignified shopping experience that fosters more meaningful interactions among our volunteers and clients,” said Robert Peck, Barnabas Food Program Coordinator.
Joy Riggs and Sarah Hooper are first-time food pantry participants who were pleased with the client choice setup. Hooper was excited about choosing some lower sodium items and fresh tomatoes, and Riggs couldn’t wait to get home to bake a birthday cake for her daughter.
“This pantry is a lifesaver for me and my children,” said Riggs. “I struggle to feed them toward the end of the month, but now I have food support from Barnabas. It’s my daughter’s birthday today and I will finally be able to bake her a real cake with the cake mix I just selected. Being able to cook a meal with food from the pantry will make a big difference for my family.”
The Barnabas Food Pantry is open Monday 1 pm-4 pm, Tuesday through Thursday 10 am-3 pm, and Friday 10 am-12 pm. It is located in Barnabas’ main office at 1303 Jasmine Street, Fernandina Beach. For more information or to make a donation, please contact Tania Yount at tyount@barnabasnassau.org or visit barnabasnassau.org.
