THE FSBC FOOD PANTRY: Over 11 Years of Service to Richmond Communities
Fighting Food Insecurity in Highland Park
Every 3rd Tuesday, the Food Pantry is open to Fifth Street Baptist Church’s neighbors in need. In addition, the Food Pantry has been a Godsend during the Pandemic, as many of the residents of Highland Park were unexpectedly thrust into poverty almost immediately. Many of them lost their businesses, their jobs, and their homes. They became food insecure and required the kind of assistance that was beyond anything they could have imagined. Many others had no idea how they would feed their children who were accustomed to eating two meals per day in school. After all, schools shut down, that resource was no longer available to them.
As any Angel would in times such as these, Linda saw an opportunity. Under the guidance and encouragement of Pastor F. Todd Gray, the generosity of Fifth Street Baptist Church’s members, and the patronage of many other generous donors, Linda was able to expand the capacity of the Food Pantry to not only serve the Highland Park Neighborhood once per month but to include the entire city on a weekly basis for many weeks. Linda is such a force that she inspired a bevy of volunteers and charities to donate not only food but their precious time to serve the patrons during the most deadly Pandemic our country and the world had ever seen.
The Food Pantry provides non-perishable food items, including several full meals, to recipients. They provide items, i.e., breakfast cereals and milk; full spaghetti meals, including pasta and sauce; and also lunch items. All food bags include vegetables, rice, peanut butter, and bread. Non-food items, i.e., toilet paper, are also provided.
Linda Macbeth-Harper is dedicated to those in need because, at heart, she is a loving, caring person who, when a need is presented, she is compelled to meet it. Linda is currently the sole caregiver for two elderly, ailing loved ones. Yet, she never waivers in her commitment to serve the residents of the Highland Park Neighborhood through the Food Pantry.
