Friends & Neighbors Food Pantry of Ashtabula County opens its doors – and heart

ASHTABULA – Friends and neighbors make a community all the more special, and now a food pantry bearing that name has opened up in Ashtabula.
In February, Friends & Neighbors Food Pantry of Ashtabula County debuted at 4901 Main Ave., Ashtabula in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, where it’s based.
And like a true friend and neighbor, it seeks to be there for those needing help.
John Valentic, one of the about a dozen volunteers involved with the pantry, said the volunteers had been lending a hand at the Our Lady of Peace Food Pantry, which closed its doors in October.
After the closure, there was a question in the air.
“We just kind of all got together and said, ‘Do you want to keep this going?’” Valentic recalled. “We all said, ‘Yes, if we could find a place, we would want to do it.’”
Valentic said he knew John Korb, with St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, where there was a food pantry already.
After talking with Korb, it was agreed that the volunteers who worked previously at the former food pantry at Our Lady of Peace would go to St. Peter’s and run a food pantry.
As a result, Friends & Neighbors Food Pantry was born.
Now, there are two food pantries at St. Peter’s – Friends & Neighbors and the one that had already been existing there.
After kicking off in February, Friends & Neighbors has been providing those in need with five days’ worth of food. The selection can include meat, bread, pasta, fruit, canned goods, dry goods and frozen food, based on availability. The offerings vary each week.
Community is key to the food pantry.
“It’s 100-percent volunteer and 100-percent community funded,” Valentic said. “We operate on donations.”
Many have stepped up with donations. They have included the Ashtabula VFW Post 943, the Ashtabula American Legion Post 103, and private individuals.
Rose Smith, who coordinates Friends & Neighbors Food Pantry, said the food pantry served 389 families in February, for a total of 3,889 meals given out.
“I think we did awesome for month one,” she said.
She said people are grateful for the food pantry.
“They want to hug us,” she said. “The people are wonderful and so appreciative. There’s such a need in Ashtabula County, which is so sad, but there’s not a lot we can do about it, except feed people.”
She thought the need will be even greater with the cost of gas going up.
Friends & Neighbors Food Pantry is open every Friday from 10 a.m. to noon at St. Peter’s. People can go the back door of the church and come into the basement to fill out their paperwork.
Smith thanked St. Peter’s and everyone who has donated and supported the food pantry.