The small basement closet would have to work.
As community and faith leaders throughout Johnson County watched hunger take a greater and greater toll on local residents, they knew they had to act. They were led by Eddy Teets, a prominent businessman and civic leader who would go on to be Franklin’s mayor, and Roger Gifford, pastor at First Christian Church in Bargersville.
At their urging, churches around the county committed to opening a small food pantry in the basement of First Baptist Church in Franklin.
“The vision of those early leaders was spot-on. The ability to bring resources from businesses, churches, individuals, all to one place, really provides economies of scale and efficiencies,” said Carol Phipps, executive director of the Interchurch Food Pantry of Johnson County. “It’s allowed us to get to the point, after 40 years, where we can provide all of this food to all of these families who are food insecure.”
From those meager beginnings four decades ago, the Interchurch Food Pantry has grown to become a foundational piece of the local fight against food insecurity. The pantry, now open five days a week and some Saturdays, feeds about 140 families per day. In 2022 alone, the organization was able to provide more than 1.5 million meals for the community.
The pantry has weathered a myriad of challenges in four decades — from economic downturns to a once-in-a-century flood to the COVID-19 pandemic. But through it all, the organization and its army of supporters have remained focused on a singular goal — keeping the people of Johnson County from going hungry.
“Members in the community know there is a place they can get a hand when they need it. The smiles, the love, the warmth — we want to give people that extra,” Phipps said.
In celebration of its landmark anniversary, the Interchurch Food Pantry is hosting a community party from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday. The public can tour the pantry’s facility, see how all of the pieces come together to feed hundreds of families each week, and hear from pantry and community leaders.
The event is a chance to showcase all the pantry does, and help build for the future.
“What we really want to do is show people what we do here. We’ve been here for 40 years, and there is still an opportunity to build awareness of what we do,” said Liz Cooper, a board member for the pantry. “I think there would be more people in the community who would be excited to get involved with us if they were aware of us. So it’s a great opportunity to draw people in to help us continue for the next 40-plus years.”
At the time the pantry was born, organizers referred to hunger as a hidden problem. Many in the community were impacted by it, but those people struggled in private, often too ashamed to ask for help.
Still, churches reported receiving numerous calls from the elderly, unemployed and working poor, particularly toward the end of the month, said Rev. Alan Trent, pastor of First Baptist Church at the time, in a Daily Journal story from July 16, 1983.
A select group of community leaders started working together to make the problem more visible, and to provide a solution to it.
“We want it to be known. When people know — particularly the Christian community … They will respond,” Trent said in the 1983 story.
The foundation of the effort would be joining forces to better approach the hunger problem.
“They wanted to combine their efforts — they thought it would be better for people and more efficient,” Phipps said. “So they said, let’s have one place where all of the food donations, the monetary donations, the volunteers, could work together to feed the hungry.”
In its earliest days, First Baptist Church housed the pantry. They provided food for about 128 families each year, gradually growing over time and moving to larger facilities to meet their needs. Over the years, the pantry operated out of the senior center in Franklin, the offices of Human Services, a fire station in Whiteland and the Farm Bureau building in Franklin.
The pantry moved into its current facility in 2016.
“We started a capital campaign, and we had this place purchased within one year of the campaign,” Phipps said. “It really showed the support of the community and how much they valued us reaching out and helping people during their struggles.”
The foremost challenge of the pantry was meeting the ever-expanding demand for food. When it was founded, the population of Johnson County was about 80,000 people; today it’s more than 165,000.
In 2022, the pantry served more than 34,000 households — a 64% increase from the households served the year before.
To feed all of those people, the pantry has relied on community support, as schools, businesses, churches and individuals have given selflessly to ensure the pantry is well-stocked. A partnership with Gleaners Food Bank has provided a constant flow of food as well.
“Their mission was to get food to the hungry, and the way they did that was through food pantries. We were the Johnson County partner, and that resulted in them delivering truckloads of stuff to us,” Phipps said.
Other partners, such as WIC, Windrose Health Network, Purdue Extension Johnson County and Franciscan Health, ensure the pantry can provide nutritious food to clients and meet special dietary restrictions.
“We want to not only see that people are well-fed, but that they’re fed well,” Cooper said.
Food pantry organizers also made efforts to rescue food from area groceries, restaurants and other places. The food — which is still perfectly good but discarded due to appearance — has become a prime source for produce and other perishable items for the pantry.
In 2022, they were able to rescue 2.1 million pounds of food.
“Local businesses like groceries, restaurants, the school districts, they don’t want to see food wasted. They’ve recognized that there is a way we can take food that we can no longer sell, but it’s perfectly good food,” Phipps said. “We have an army of volunteers who pick up food, and then we can turn around and give that out the same day.”
While the need is always present, emergencies and disasters have placed greater stress on the pantry, forcing it to adapt quickly. In the mid-1980s, as the pantry was getting going, Johnson County faced a wave of unemployment as area factories closed down.
The devastating floods in 2008 left thousands of people affected around the county. The pantry became the epicenter of recovery efforts, not only distributing food but passing out cleaning supplies and serving as the volunteer depot.
As society ground to a halt in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pantry leaders brainstormed a way to safely provide food to the wave of unemployed and others in need, without spreading the virus. They put their plan in place for a drive-through distribution in action over the course of a weekend.
“Our leadership have been amazingly flexible individuals, and you don’t always see that. When change is required, people sometimes dig in. In this case, when change is required and recognized, we adapt,” Cooper said.
Organizers are excited for their community celebration, having worked for months planning the event. Balloons and decorations have been ordered, cake will be served, and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions.
People can sign up for the Harvest Walk, a fundraiser for the food pantry, and help support it on Oct. 1.
Cooper notes that people are asked to park around the corner from the food pantry at the Lowe’s Home Improvement parking lot, 2219 N. Morton St., Franklin. Balloons will be set up in the southernmost part of the lot, and people can park and catch an Access Johnson County shuttle bus to the facility. Handicapped parking will be at the pantry.
“We want this event to be a chance to thank everybody who has been part of this and has made it possible,” Phipps said.
IF YOU GO
Interchurch Food Pantry of Johnson County 40th anniversary
What: A community celebration recognizing four decades of partnership with the county. The event will feature tours of the facility, cake, and comments by pantry leadership as well as by Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers and Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett.
When: 3-5 p.m. Saturday
Where: 211 Commerce Drive, Franklin
Parking: Guests are asked to park at the Lowe’s Home Improvement parking lot. Balloons will be arranged in the southern-most area of the lot, and after parking, an Access Johnson County shuttle bus will take you to and from the event. Shuttle service starts at 2:45 p.m. and ends at 5:15.
