LOCAL MISSION SPOTLIGHT
SBIC: THEN & NOW
Over forty years ago the South Brunswick Interchurch Council (SBIC) was formed after the members of four churches along Main Street in Shallotte realized they were being overwhelmed by the number of transients, drifters, and others in need of support showing up at their doors. They started small in the back room of the old courthouse in Bolivia. Since then, they have grown to include support from twelve churches, including ours! After several changes in location over the years, we are blessed to be able to serve our clients in a larger building where all our supplies and food can be managed in the same space.
Several programs are overseen out of our building. These include The Lord’s Food Pantry, PORCH neighborhood food collections and the distribution of Healthy Options Pilot (HOP) food boxes to eligible Medicaid recipients. The Lord’s Food Pantry operates every Saturday morning, providing healthy food and toiletries to our neighbors in need. Last year we helped to put food on the table for over 17,100 of our neighbors, and this year we’re on track to surpass that number by over 28%. Ours is one of the few food pantries in Brunswick County that allows families in need to receive food every week when necessary.
In addition, neighborhood PORCH donations are collected at our pantry, and volunteers organize the non-perishable foods that are received and share them with neighboring food pantries. These donations are critical for food pantries to keep costs down. Our volunteers also deliver HOP food boxes on a weekly basis to neighbors in the southern end of our county who have been referred by their medical providers.
All this work is made possible with the support of our member churches, community supporters, grants and, most importantly, volunteer support. We have no paid employees! If you’re interested in learning more you can visit our website at https://www.thelordsfoodpantry.org/. If you’d like to support the work or arrange a tour, contact Cyndi Shaw at cyndishaw1022@gmail.com. There’s lots to do almost every day of the week!
