46 Years of Service

Dublin Food Pantry

A BRIEF HISTORY

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​About our historic 46 year location:

Dublin Food Pantry (DFP) operates in Dublin Community Church (DCC) which was built in 1887. After a 1912 tornado destroyed two nearby churches, all three congregations, according to Dublin’s Journey, formed Dublin Community Congregation Church in 1913. This spirit of shared space for the greater good continues today since DCC allows Dublin Food Pantry to independently operate from this Historic Dublin location.

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The Beginning:

March of 1976 is considered the official start of Dublin Food Pantry since it is the date of the non-profit designation through Dublin Community Church to formally operate the pantry.

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At that time, there was only one high school and Dublin was a village.

 

Rev. Robert Bradstreet, who pastored from 1972 to 1988, noted that pantry support was community wide. Beginning in the 1980's area churches and groups signed up for assigned months to staff the food pantry. In 1980, the Operation Feed Foodbank opened, eventually becoming the current Mid-Ohio Food Bank Collective. Today, DFP is one of Mid-Ohio Food Collective's 680 partner agencies. This partnership is significant. In addition to training and data tracking programs, DFP can access needed items from Mid-Ohio and collect weekly perishable food donations from area grocers.

 

​Operational changes - a closet, a store, curbside service:

 

Pantry founders noted that the pantry began in a large closet in the late 1970’s. After a large addition to the church in the 1990's, the pantry took over a room in the new space offering a “choice” grocery-store experience where customers filled a shopping cart with items they selected.

 

With the significant Covid-19 pandemic impact of increased need and fewer "in-person" church events,  DDC leadership allowed the pantry to expand space use in the church. The extra space was needed not only to meet the surge in demand and to meet social distance requirements, but also to allow the pantry to operate curbside service. 

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​Service Area Growth & More Clients:

From serving a monthly average number of individuals in 2019 of 769, monthly averages increased to1,052 in 2020 and 1,763 in 2021. In early 2022, more than 2,000 individuals are served monthly.

 

These increased customer numbers align with the population growth within Dublin Food Pantry's service area. For instance, Dublin School District is now the 9th largest school district in Ohio in 2022 according to Ohio Department of Education statistics. The City of Dublin’s 2022 population exceeds 50,000 and the entire pantry service area spans parts of three counties and eight zip codes.

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Restructuring the pantry:

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Currently, the DFP Board, led by Chair Gene Pavell and Vice-Chair Eric Bosserman, oversee pantry staff and operation. This leadership structure evolved over time.

 

Originally, DFP began as the Dublin Area Emergency Assistance Program (DAEAP.) A descriptive name since the pantry provides an emergency source of food, basic personal care items and links to resources. As Dublin and Dublin School District grew over the years, the pantry had to adjust. The surge in need during the recession of 2008 was particularly impactful in moving the pantry towards its current organizational structure.

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In 2011, DFP's Volunteer Executive Director Linda Fisher met two of her pantry goals with the formation of a board who would hire the first professional Director. Fisher said, “It was a realization over time that this has just grown into more than what a volunteer can reasonably be asked to do, and it has been at that point for three or four years” as reported by This Week in October of 2011.

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Although day-to-day operations continued as usual, the Board updated DFP's 501(3)(c) non-profit designation so the pantry was independent from Dublin Community Church in March of 2012. This update had the support of Senior Minister Rev. Robert Tussing who agreed that the growth of the pantry's scope warranted the changes. In the spring of 2012, DFP Board President Amy Tibbals announced that the Board hired Dublin Food Pantry's first paid employee, Executive Director Nancy Johnson.

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Professional Staff

Executive Directors:

 

Each Director has made impressive contributions to the pantry:

· Nancy Johnson (March 2012-2015) continued the overhaul of pantry operations to a "choice" pantry where customers could load their shopping cart with selected grocery items

· Molly Arbogast, MSW (2015-2018) secured the largest grant (to date at that time) to purchase a much-needed cargo van and updated DFP's logo

· Denise "Dinky" Youngsteadt-Parrish (March 2019-present)  was hired by Board Chair Asch Mikhail, who shares that Dinky lead through the Covid-19 pandemic impact, meeting the dual challenges of dramatically increased emergency need in changing and challenging conditions. In 2021, she earned recognition as the Dublin Chamber of Commerce President‘s Award Honoree. Featured on the cover of the August/September 2022 Dublin Life magazine, detailing her life of service.

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Operation Staff:

 

Lynne Hessler (2015-2018) was the pantry's first paid part-time Operations Director after volunteering in that role.

 

Jim Wilson (December 2018 - present)  was asked by the Board to step in as Interim Director of Operations at a time when both pantry staff members had opted to move on. According to Lisa Patt McDaniel, a pantry board officer at the time, “Jim’s quick grasp of the operational issues and his professional approach to both volunteers and customers made an immediate positive impact. Jim has been Director of Operations since 2019 and he has been indispensable to the pantry, facing and meeting more challenges than ever anticipated.”

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Community support powers the pantry:

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Hundreds of volunteers who have steadfastly collected, sorted, and distributed donations are a key part of pantry history. 

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For each of the pantry’s 46 years, support comes from schools, faith communities, businesses, groups, clubs, troops, teams, neighborhoods, and the City of Dublin. The pantry is an example of "neighbors helping neighbors." Some volunteers have served for decades, others have taken on leadership roles. For instance, Bev Ross has served as volunteer Transportation Director since 2012.​​

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The biggest single pantry community support event takes place on Sunday morning of the Dublin Irish Festival. Entry to the Festival is given in exchange for a food or fund donation to the pantry. Hundreds of pantry volunteers pitch in to staff all Festival entry gates to collect these donations.

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Hashtag: Filling Hearts and Carts

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The pantry hashtag "filling hearts and carts" not only recognizes DFP's unique green shopping carts filled with needed groceries - it also emphasizes the impact of "filling hearts" of both volunteers and customers.  The hashtag is also a nod to the pantry's expanded social media presence that included a new Website and an expanded presence on Instagram and Facebook beginning in 2018. DFP's Website  and social media dramatically enhanced the pantry's ability to communicate about the pantry's on-going service and safety measures. 

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What’s next:

 

With pandemic conditions evolving to allow a return to normal church events, there have been pantry closures when a space conflict arises. DCC now led by Rev. Lisa Bowersock, after Rev. Tussing's retirement in September of 2021, continues to be supportive of the pantry mission, however, the church space is not available to the pantry in the same way.

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The need for additional Dublin Food Pantry space is being addressed by the pantry staff, the DFP Board of Trustees, city officials and community leaders.

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With help from MJ2 Marketing and Cramer & Associates, a capital campaign began in July 2022 to help Dublin Food Pantry move into a freestanding location at 6608 Dublin Center Drive.

 

Going forward, community and volunteer support, coupled with Board and staff leadership, will allow Dublin Food Pantry to continue connecting neighbors with food, hygiene products, and resources - in a new building.

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- by Patte Widerschein

Former Board member

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Sources:

Dublin Community Church Staff and volunteers

dublinohiohistory.org

Dublin's Journey Local government print book publication. Dublin, OH 2004

https://www.midohiofoodbank.org/who-we-are/about-us/

https://www.thisweeknews.com/article/20120515/NEWS/305159619

https://www.thisweeknews.com/article/20111026/NEWS/310269398

https://sunny95.com/outstanding-women/nancy-johnson/

https://www.dublinschools.net/domain/860

https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/dublin-oh-population

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