Food Pantry

Address 

415 E St Catherine Street  

Description 

The Food Pantry is 100% volunteer-run and is open twice weekly. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., clients receive fresh produce, frozen meats, poultry, fish, and pantry staples. Everyone deserves to eat a nutritious meal. We serve people with a variety of backgrounds, such as babies, toddlers, teenagers, single parents, Veterans, and seniors. These can be our existing clients and those in the community.   

This is all made possible because of the two dozen volunteers and influx of donations from Dare to Care, St. Vincent de Paul Louisville conferences, local businesses, churches, schools, and individuals. 

Facility 

The Food Pantry is in a former garage and warehouse on our campus.  

Support 

Nine out of ten times, clients don’t drive, so they walk several miles to and from the Food Pantry. When clients arrive, they check in with a volunteer, who confirms the client has an SVDP Louisville Food Pantry card. They must live in the 40203 zip code or currently live on campus. Clients then receive their roughly $50 worth of groceries, often carrying four or more bags filled with food as they leave. Their groceries are triple bagged so that they don’t break because of the weight. For a client’s first visit during the month, they receive USDA meats, fresh produce, and donated items. On their second visit in the same month, they can have produce and donated items. If they come again, they can only receive produce until the following month. 

The Food Pantry opened in July 2014. The need to eat was a growing concern in the 40203 zip code. In comparison to the rest of Jefferson County, Shelby Park households receive four times more SNAP benefits and three times more are below the federal poverty line.  

After a Dare to Care food bank closed in the Shelby Park and Smoketown area, it left quite a void for residents. In early 2014, Dare to Care approached us about starting a Food Pantry. Upon visiting a variety of food pantries, where clients are handed a pre-packaged bag of groceries, our staff and Board felt it would be best to give people a choice. Clients are allowed to choose items depending on the day’s donations, giving them a degree of self-sufficiency. Every month, more than 500 households get groceries at our Food Pantry, which is almost 20 times the demand that Dare to Care estimated we would serve when we initially opened.