By Audrey Stratton | Local Happenings
This time of year is often filled with shopping, lots of cooking, and time spent with family and friends. However, this time of the year is stressful and worrisome for some families in our community.
Some families this time of year, especially with the chaos of COVID-19, struggle to find ways to make the holidays special for their families.
Our county really comes together this time of year to make sure that these families can have wonderful holiday memories without all of the stresses. This is something that we should all be extremely proud of and thankful for.
One of our favorite organizations is the Hands of Grace Food Pantry through the Grace Community Church here in Portsmouth.
Throughout the year, and even more throughout the holidays, the Hands of Grace Food Pantry serves families in our community with basic groceries and hygiene products.
Their mission is to assist our community in ways that some struggle to provide for themselves. This is a benevolent ministry that serves as an extension of their congregation.
These items come from the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati. Their mission is to improve lives by eliminating hunger in partnership with our community, and our vision is to create a hunger free, healthy, and thriving community.
To achieve this vision, our objectives are to provide nutritious food, connect to support services, and offer a pathway from crisis to stability.
On average, they serve 40 families a month since the pandemic started, but serve quite a bit more during normal times.
The current managers for the pantry are Kenny and Melissa sparks. They have run the pantry for the last two years. After the first of the year, the torch will be handed off to Brady and Natalie Carter.
Recently the Grace Community Church’s homeschool program, Classical Conversations of Portsmouth, came in to help package some of the food for this month’s day of giving.
For more information, please contact them on Facebook or call 740-354-2323.
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