Flint, MI—Look out for a bright blue box near the intersection of West Court Street and Miller Road this weekend as two Flint-based nonprofits have partnered to open a new food pantry on the city’s west side.
Well of Hope, whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty, has been operating its free walk-up food pantries called “Boxes of Hope” in Flint since 2017.
The organization’s fourth pantry will be unveiled during a ribbon cutting at noon on Saturday, June 25, at 1422 W. Court Street—the address of its partner nonprofit in the endeavor, Family Service Agency of Mid-Michigan.
“I am honored to be partnering with Well of Hope to bring another Boxes of Hope to the Flint community,” said Brooke Gow, Executive Director of FSA Mid-Michigan. “There is a lot of shame and stigma associated with food pantries, so bringing another one to the community that offers total anonymity is so special and something FSA wants to be a part of.”
Chia Morgan, program coordinator for Well of Hope, said Gow reached out to her about hosting her organization’s next pantry at just the right time: Well of Hope had recently received funding to open another pantry from Quin Pitts of Pitts & Co. Trucking, LLC.
“They have guardians, they have payees that are on a fixed income,” Morgan said of why she thought the FSA site would be perfect for Well of Hope’s next pantry. “So as (FSA clients) come into the agency for different things, they can just stop there and get food that’ll either offset costs for them or free up money for them to be able to do other things.”
Morgan added that the FSA building is a short walk from the Shelter of Flint, and she hopes people seeking the shelter’s services will also take advantage of the pantry.
“If someone is in the shelter and just needs a quick snack while they’re out, or you don’t have money, or somebody is coming that way that may be homeless trying to go to the shelter and see if they have availability that night: that food pantry is right there,” she said.
Well of Hope’s other Boxes of Hope food pantries are located at W. Alma Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue, Monteith Street and Dougherty Place, and E. Myrtle Avenue and Saginaw Street.
For residents looking to donate food, Morgan stressed that only non-perishable items—such as boxed noodles, canned soups, and spices—are accepted in the pantry for health and safety reasons.
More information on how to to find or support Boxes of Hope can be found on Well of Hope’s website.