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In 1996, a new pastor from Georgia, Scotty Poole of the Little White Country Church in Gilkey, felt the needy of Rutherford County should be helped.
“For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in.” (Matthew 25:35).
Pastor Poole’s mother-in-law in Georgia was directing a food ministry. A road trip was in order for members of the Little White Church to learn from her and do the same. In January 1997 the church began “The Neighbors Pantry”. A parishioner and nurse, Chris Davis, decided to get involved. She was one of ten children who grew up poor on a farm in Bostic. She picked cotton, canned and worked on the farm. With a lot of hard work, she became a CPN and then nurse. She now heads the program on a volunteer basis and is instrumental in guiding “The Neighbors Pantry” over the years. She will tell you: “God drives me to do it! I saw a big need for this program in the county.”
The first building was a small eight foot by eighteen foot hunting cabin. Parishioners of the church donated food and toiletries. The pantry opened every Tuesday and Saturday for a few hours. The first month it assisted about 12 families.
“The Neighbors Pantry” has grown over the past 16 years and now feeds over 400 families! You must realize that the operative word is “families”. Families of four to seven or more. After outgrowing the little hunting cabin, the pantry moved outback of the Little White Country Church in a small storage space and was allowed to use the church’s fellowship hall four times a month for distribution. Families show up two to three hours before distribution and the line wraps around the church.
What must seem as the apex of this charitable outreach is that on September 28, the program will be moving to the old Gilkey School. The “GSCC Neighbors Pantry” also has been given a truck with an automatic lift from Mike Parton and wife Gail of Gilkey Lumber. The Partons have been very supportive of the pantry. In fact, the new pantry will be named “The Alma and Jess Parton GSCC Neighbors Pantry” in memory of Mike’s parents who were also very supportive of the program. There are many stories of Jess Parton showing up at someone’s house and giving them things needed. When he would hear of someone who was in need, he would take whatever they needed to their house. Alma and Jess were well known for being extremely generous to those less fortunate.
Gilkey is one of fifteen townships in Rutherford County. It is a small, caring community. The best example of the people of Gilkey can be found in the giving nature of those volunteers who embrace “The Neighbors Pantry”. This outreach of the Little White Country Church has a motto: “We are here to give a hand up, not a hand out!” In 2012 the pantry distributed about 400,000 pounds of food to the needy. Food is now distributed four times a month: two Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and two Friday afternoons from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Volunteers are needed because of the new facility and tremendous growth. If you’d like to volunteer you may call Chris Davis at 828-777-0091. Your reward may be like that of a bright eyed little boy who smiled and was so excited when they gave him an apple.
