Living Hope cuts ribbon at new pantry

NEWBERRY — After years of operating out of New Enoree Baptist Church’s fellowship hall, The Living Hope Foundation’s food pantry moved back into the city limits of Newberry.

On April 6, the food pantry celebrated a ribbon cutting with the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce at their new location, 1830 Nance Street. The new spot formerly housed a fraternity and is across the street from Newberry Elementary. The new location is more centrally located and will be better able to serve those in need within the city of Newberry.

A proclamation by Newberry Mayor Foster Senn recapped some of the history of the foundation as they have helped the community. In part the proclamation reads:

“Whereas, the Living Hope Foundation began as an idea of Pastor Rev. Claude H. Tolbert in the early 2000s to expand community outreach through New Enoree Baptist Church to Newberry County,

“Whereas, a food pantry was a community-need identified early and led Living Hope to establish the Daily Bread Food Pantry, which provided great help to many in Newberry County, and led Living Hope to expand from its first location on Main Street downtown, to a site on Louis Rich Road, to the Oakland Community Center and to a mobile food pantry,

“Whereas, seeing the excellent work of Living Hope, groups like Harvest Hope, local grocery stores, wholesalers and other suppliers formed relationships with Living Hope, enabling it to expand its offerings and serve more people,

“Whereas, in addition to helping people in its regular operations, Living Hope has responded to periods of community difficulty, such as storm recovery, the pandemic, business closings, etc.

“Whereas, today, Living Hope celebrates its new headquarters and food pantry on Nance Street, enabling more efficient operations and better access for the public,

“Now, therefore, the City of Newberry hereby celebrates the grand opening of Living Hope on Nance Street and wishes the Living Hope Foundation much success as it continues to serve the people of Newberry County.”

After cutting the ribbon for the new pantry, Michelle Long, executive director of the Newberry Chamber of Commerce spoke of the ministry.

“The Living Hope Foundation has been a mainstay in Newberry for quite some time and on behalf of the chamber and the entire community, we welcome this new facility,” she said.

John Glasgow, executive director of The Living Hope Foundation, spoke on the importance of the community members who have supported the foundation over the years.

“We cannot do what we do without all of you. We serve approximately 500 families a month, with an average size family of four, that means we serve around 25,000 people a year,” he said, “And now we have a building we can put our name on.”

This facility will allow Living Hope to continue and grow that outreach by being more accessible to those with transportation difficulties. The old location at New Enoree Baptist Church is a 10-15 minute drive from downtown Newberry. Now, on Nance Street, the pantry is within a few minutes of most of the city.

Glasgow took a moment to thank the volunteers that help run the day-to-day of the food bank.

“Our volunteers work day in and day out to make sure people get food,” he said.

Donations and efforts from Bob James and Mike Reid were recognized by Glasgow as people who made the purchase of the building and land possible.

“John, what you and your people have done to this building is unbelievable. I walked around and looked at the building and it’s just amazing what you’ve done,” Reid said.

“We thank you all for being here today, but I’ve really got to give a big thanks to Mr. John Glasgow, because without your leadership, none of this would definitely be possible. I’ve also got to give a big thanks to our volunteers. Without you doing what you do, none of this would be possible,” said John Lesaine, president of The Living Hope Foundation.

Wrapping up the festivities, Pastor David Coffman, campus pastor of Newberry College offered a blessing of the new facility.

All of The Living Hope Foundations programs are available to anyone in need and are offered free of charge. The weekly food distribution is held every Thursday at the 1830 Nance Street location from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A government issued photo ID is required. The Living Hope Foundation can be found on Facebook, and a new website, livinghopenewberry.org, is in the works.