Defending Against Hunger
Food Pantry Director makes a life of helping others
Dublin residents are seeing the August/September 2022 Dublin Life Magazine in their mailboxes. It features Dublin Food Pantry’s Executive Director Denise “Dinky” Youngsteadt-Parrish on the cover.
The article by Cameron Carr, an editor at City Scene Media Group, describes Dinky’s lifelong commitment to service expressed through her work and even through through teaching self-defense classes.
Article Excerpts:
▷ “It’s easy to understand why someone might see Denise “Dinky” Youngsteadt-Parrish as a face in the defense against hunger. She’s not just the executive director of the Dublin Food Pantry – she’s an altruist and a black belt in karate.
The scope of her position may seem straightforward on paper. Her job is to get food to people in need. But her work – like her life – encompasses much more than that. The truth, as she’s come to know it, is that food (need), is rarely an isolated issue.”
▷ “While hunger may be one of those things that’s difficult to control, that doesn’t mean Youngsteadt-Parrish intends to put up any less of a fight. And in Dublin, she’s found a solid ally to take on hunger.
“I really believe in my heart that the Dublin community will not allow this pantry to fail,” she says. “That if we put a call out tomorrow that we are out of food, that by the end of the day we would have food.”
▷ A Bigger Pantry
“The Dublin Food Pantry has long called Dublin Community Church home. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the church allowed the pantry to expand into an additional room unused at the time.
The pantry’s demand has continued to grow…Youngsteadt-Parrish says the pantry is serving roughly triple the number of clients it served in 2019.
To accommodate for that increased demand, and to move its expanded supplies out of the church, the pantry has announced a move to a new location at 6608 Dublin Center Dr.
The standalone space will expand the pantry’s physical footprint to 7,700 square feet, allow more hours open to the public and even include a playground adjacent to the building.”
The issue and entire story can be found here: https://issuu.com/cityscenemediagroup/docs/dublinlife_aug22_web
Section: Faces Pages 10 – 13
Cameron Carr/Dublin Life Photos by Ray LaVoie
To find out more about Dublin Food Pantry, please visit www.dublinfoodpantry.org
Compiled by Patte Widerschein