‘Woodstock Pantry’ opens amid celebration

Published 12:00 am Sunday, October 27, 2024

They say that when community gets involved in a big project, miraculous things can happen. The Grand Opening and ribbon-cutting for the new, upgraded Woodstock Pantry – situated behind All Saints Episcopal Church on S.E. 41st Avenue, on the church’s property – was just such a project.

The grand opening ceremony took place under clear skies on Wednesday, September 11th, at 10 a.m. Eighty people sat in chairs on the west side of the pantry, facing the large colorful mural designed and painted by Portland artist Pablo Garcia.

All Saints Episcopal’s Rev. Andria Skornik described the long period of pantry-planning, which included some insecurity regarding permits and funding. Then Western Oregon Episcopal Bishop Diana Akiyama followed in the celebration with an inspiring message and a reminder that miracles can help fix a broken world.

The church started the pantry food distribution service in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with all food storage and bagging then being done in the pews of the sanctuary. Rev. Skornik reported that in 2022 the need for food assistance had gone up by 102% in a six-month period – and as food donations piled up in the sanctuary, it became clear that a separate pantry space was needed for storage and distribution.

At first, organizers thought they could use shipping containers in a section of the church parking lot – but, to meet the city’s permitting requirements, the plan necessarily grew in scale, and the original $20,000 project grew into plans for a new standalone building.

The ultimate amount needed – $300,000 – was raised with diligent fundraising. Grants came in from “Lowe’s Hometowns”, the Oregon Food Bank, Regional Arts and Culture, Southeast Uplift, and the Episcopal Bishop of Oregon Foundation. There were also donations from many community businesses and partners, including the Woodstock New Seasons Market, the OnPoint Credit Union, and the Woodstock Neighborhood Association.

With contributions from All Saints parishioners, individual members of the community, and a last-minute generous grant from the Southeast Portland Rotary Foundation, the funding goal was finally reached.

Leslie Rangel, Outreach Coordinator and pantry organizer since last May, recently began translating into seven languages the English “menu” forms given to people lined up in the drive-thru for distribution. This allows for cultural choices, as well as vegetarian and gluten-free options, and avoids unnecessary waste.

Rangel told THE BEE, “We are now serving around 200 households a weekend at the pantry. We pack 170 grocery bags, and 30 Ready-to-Eat food bags.” Rev. Skornik remarked to BEE news partner KOIN-TV at the Grand Opening, “We are distributing $1.6 million of food each year. One third of the people receiving food are on Social Security, one third have jobs, and one third are SNAP recipients.”

The celebratory hour-long ceremony ended with many ribbon cuttings! At each subsequent cutting, a new band of red ribbon was held by different people who had been involved in helping make this particular community dream come true.