The Zallie Community Foundation provided First Baptist Church of Moorestown (FBCM) with a $1,000 grant to install a new water station in its food pantry that was officially unveiled earlier this month.
“All of our volunteers and our food pantry community have always been concerned with eliminating plastic waste and creating an environment that stresses sustainability initiatives,” said Ray Perry, co-coordinator of pantry operations and volunteers.
“With the purpose of this water cooler, we feel that we have taken a gigantic step forward towards creating such an environment.”
The food pantry began with a small folding table and a few nonperishable items in the lounge of the church. Since then, it has grown into a multi-room operation, feeding from 250 to 300 people per week, according to FBCM’s website. Its volunteer staff collects donations, stocks and restocks shelves and greets guests each week.
“The water cooler provides clients with quick and easy access to water, in a manner that is extra clean and sanitary,” Perry noted. “Since the advent of COVID, we strive to make all processes as contactless as possible. This water cooler helps us to reduce the use of one-time plastic bottles and encourage hydration.”
“The users of the water cooler can use it with trust in the quality and safety of the tap water being consumed,” Perry added. “We are able to provide this to our clients and volunteers with no cost to the food pantry through the generosity of the grant provided by Zallie.”
The Zallie Community Foundation helps communities thrive through direct grants, in-kind donations and partnerships with local and regional nonprofit organizations that encourage healthy living. It also explores philanthropic activities to strengthen communities in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties, as well as Philadelphia and Pennsylvania counties, according to its website.
The foundation – a public charity – focuses its activities on three areas – health, hunger and community connections.
“First Baptist Church requested a grant to put the water station in, and of course water is essential to food insecurity, to nutrition insecurity, to just everyday life,” explained Kim Bezanis, executive director of the foundation. “It really went with our focus areas of hunger and nutrition insecurities, so it was a perfect opportunity to help.
“Drinking safe water is hugely important, but also the environmental effects of this will be great because this country, this area is all about bottled water – it’s easy, it’s convenient,’ she added. “But this is just as easy and convenient if you bring your own container. You can get the water and you don’t have to use bottled water, so that would save on the effects of the plastic and the environment.”
Senior Pastor Rev. Linda Pepe also said a few words at the water station unveiling.
“We are so grateful to the Zallie Foundation for this opportunity to bring this great water (station) to our clients and our guests and our volunteers and our whole church community,” she observed.
“It’s going to benefit everybody for years to come in so many different ways, but there’s a lot of hands that have gone into making this happen, and I know if you’ve participated in any way in getting this to come to fruition, I am so grateful for you,” Pepe added. “And I know the community will thank you as well.”
In other news for the church, a high-school student service club at Moorestown Friends School recently donated a new appliance for the food pantry that can serve as either a freezer or refrigerator and will enable volunteers to store perishable foods safely until they can go to clients.
The club’s students have also arranged for the pantry to receive leftover perishable items from their dining hall that otherwise would be discarded. FBCM also has a new partnership with the Food Bank of South Jersey, which has allowed the church pantry to take advantage of certain food items as well as nutrition training programs for its clients offered by the food bank.
“I can’t express how beneficial the program is,” stated Jane Pipes, co-coordinator of FBCM’s pantry. “ … They (food pantry clients) have the food they need. That is really the difference. They’ve always had at least some, but we can really provide more with the food bank opportunity.”
