I wanted to bring you all the news of the launch of Stephen’s Pantry website, it has been a long time coming, but it is now live. The team I have been blessed to work with has provided  great service to this work and me, and I am grateful and so proud of what they have come up with.

This launch introduces a new season for the pantry. An active and energetic time of re-building and preparing for the season around the corner. We are not yet up and running at full steam right now, but we are building and preparing for that day. Stephen’s Pantry has been operational since November 2015, and we purposefully took a hiatus some months back to slow down and rebuild a stronger and broader foundation for the future. We do not have to look far to hear, see, or sense that crisis is knocking at the door of America.

We have seen some tough times on the streets and in homes in our short history. This is why we are working diligently in the rebuilding phase right now. And during our time of operation, we have brought food to about 750 homes.

The reality of “food scarcity” as the government calls it, which we do not, for we are not government-supported, call it hunger and intense need. The challenges of homelessness are very real. The reality is that getting a job will not solve the problem in the short term. “You can’t feed them off the streets, but without feeding them you can’t get them off the streets.”

We have held the hands of the father who lost his wife and children in an accident, the worker injured on the job, the foster child kicked out at age 18, the dying cancer patient, stood by the addicted, the hurting, the truly starving, the military veteran who honorably served this nation now dying alone on the streets, and given a toy to a child who had nothing. Our goal has always been to step up and make a difference in the lives of those who need it.

We are intentionally looking and seeking community alliance partners who have the same heart and desire as we do and want to make a difference but do not know how. We are looking to connect and partner with those who can provide a location for the pantry, donate vehicles, begin to increase food donations and help build teams needed to meet the demand that is coming fast.

This is a Christian pantry and we firmly believe in the provision, protection, and supply of the Lord into our hands for the needs of those on the streets and those in homes, however, we also know that He works through people.

Let me close with this, I come from a totally different perspective than very few working with the homeless, having been homeless myself. There were some things that were in place in California in 1996 and are still present in South Florida as well, which is not acceptable. When I was homeless there were no food pantries, no shelters, and no programs to help me get my life turned around.

There were none to stand alongside and help in the fight, and that still exists here today as it did in California all those years ago. If it had not been for God intervening in my life, I do not know where I would have ended up.

So, I invite you to join the fight, join this cause, and work with us in starting the journey of ending homelessness with those trapped on the streets.

All my contact information is here on the website, reach out to me, I would love to talk to you and share more of the mission and vision with you.

Blessings

Jill Danbom, CEO of Stephen’s Pantry