Seed Faith Food Pantry and Lighthouse Resale Center Shop Founder, Marie Berry, will host the annual Thanksgiving Meal Distribution & Holiday Resource Fair on Monday, Nov. 24. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)
BY SHERI TRUSTY
GYPSUM – Seed Faith Food Pantry invites the community to its annual Thanksgiving Meal Distribution & Holiday Resource Fair on Monday, Nov. 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees can receive everything they need to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner, and they will have access to health services and resources from local agencies.
Attendees can choose from turkey or pork loin, and they will receive sides and dessert.
“We’re going to give them food for the whole meal,” said Seed Faith Food Pantry Founder, Marie Berry.
The Erie County Health Department’s Mobile Health Clinic truck will be onsite, where medical professionals will offer work, school, and sports physicals; school and age-appropriate immunizations; and dental exams and cleanings. Services will be billed to the patient’s insurance, and reduced out-of-pocket costs will be available to those who qualify. No child will be denied treatment due to an inability to pay.
Anyone interested in health services can preregister by calling the health department’s Community Health Center at 567-867-5174. Walk-in appointments will be available.
Several Ottawa County agencies will also participate in the Holiday Resource Fair, including the Ohio Area Office on Aging, Ottawa County Veterans Service Office, Ottawa County Department of Job & Family Services, and local health insurance providers.
Attendees can enjoy a hot coffee and cocoa bar, hot dogs, and sausages.
The Lighthouse Resale Center Shop funds the Seed Faith Food Pantry, which serves about 125 people each week. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)
Seed Faith Food Pantry celebrates 11 years of serving Ottawa County this month. Berry said she didn’t know what to expect when she started the ministry, but she trusted in God’s plan.
“I just knew that I had a vision from God,” she said. “I had no idea it would keep going and be as big as it is.”
The food pantry is located inside Lighthouse Resale Center Shop. Proceeds from the shop help fund the food pantry, which serves about 125 people each week.
“I’m so thankful for the community’s donations to the resale shop,” Berry said.
Berry said that people who donate to the resale shop are planting a seed that she waters.
“Those donations are so important. I work and turn those donations into food,” she said. “Then it spills out into the community.”
Berry is looking for a volunteer who can help her part-time with the ongoing work of running a resale shop, possibly a retiree who wants to make an impact in the community.
“I’m looking for a likeminded visionary to help me with this ministry,” she said.
Seed Faith Food Pantry and Lighthouse Resale Center Shop is located at 974 South Lake St. in Gypsum. For more information, call 419-732-2399.
