Welcome

Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope

About Us

Did you know 11% of Pickerington live below the poverty line?

The Pickerington Food Pantry is governed by a Board of Trustees who volunteer their time along with 80+ people who also volunteer their time on a daily, weekly and/or monthly basis. Together, we successfully serve an average of over 500 people each month in the Pickerington Local School District (excluding zip code 43068 and 43110 which are served by other local pantries) who need food assistance.

The Food Pantry’s clients are a diverse portrait of the Pickerington community, including young children, extended families and senior citizens. Many unforeseen scenarios, including job loss, sickness, or injury, can put a financial burden on households. It is with generous support that we can aid our neighbors in their time of need. Thank you for supporting the Pickerington Food Pantry and our mission of “Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope.”

Food assistance is provided for households once every two weeks. The Food Pantry is a choice pantry, meaning that it operates much like a grocery store, where clients are given a list of categories from which they are free to choose whatever food they like to correspond with dietary restrictions and preferences. Each person in a household is given enough food to last the equivalent of five days. The Food Pantry makes an effort to provide nutritious food for clients, including fresh produce. The vast majority of the food distributed from the Food Pantry is either purchased at a steep discount from the Mid-Ohio Foodbank using monetary funds donated to the Food Pantry, or donated by various sources around the community, including grocery stores, churches and schools.

Who We Are

Board of Trustees:

Erika Lomonico, President
Darrin Monhollen, Vice President
Cheryl Ricketts, Treasurer
Diana Briggs, Member
Darryl Baker, Member

Staff:

Vanessa Niekamp, Executive Director
Kaylie Fellers, Pantry Operations Coordinator
- Anne Christley, Client Hours Supervisor
- Laura Cunningham-Giomi, Client Hours Supervisor
- Diane Hare, Client Hours Supervisor

and over 100 volunteers

Our Mission

The mission of the Pickerington Food Pantry is “Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope.” The purpose of the organization is to provide emergency food assistance to income eligible clients (at or below 200% of Federal poverty guidelines) who reside within the boundaries of the Pickerington Local School District (excluding zip codes 43068 and 43110). The Food Pantry is organized exclusively for the charitable provision of food for the relief of the poor under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

This Institution is and Equal Opportunity Provider.

Food Assistance

How to receive food assistance:

Clients can make their own reservations on this website: CLICK HERE ***Please note that we serve the Pickerington Local School District (excluding zip codes 43068 and 43110,CLICK HERE ***Please note we serve the Pickerington Local School District (excluding zip codes 43068 and 43110 which are served by other pantries).

Clients will register and choose an arrival time slot. The time slots are in 3-minute increments. Clients must be present in the pantry during that three-minute window. If they are not, they will be offered an emergency food pack and asked to reschedule for another date.

By using this system, clients will no longer have to arrive at the pantry earlier than their reserved time slot. ALL CLIENTS WILL BE SEEN DURING THEIR SCHEDULED TIME. NOT AS THEY ARRIVE TO THE PARKING LOT, LOBBY, ETC.

We think this will be a great way to allow clients to cancel and change their reservations. Also, reservations may be made up to 7 days in advance.

PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE A MESSAGE or SEND AN EMAIL

Please do not leave a message on the food pantry’s voicemail system or send emails to request a reservation to shop.
If you do not have a reservation, we will provide you with an emergency food pack and help you get scheduled for regular shopping on another day.

THERE IS NO COST TO THE CLIENT TO SHOP FOR FOOD

Once you are on the Food Pantry floor, a volunteer walks along with you and you will get a certain number of items per section (product, dairy, meats, vegetables, fruits, proteins, soups, grains, household, hygiene, baby, etc.) depending on the size of your family. We offer a Choice Pantry which means you pick the items you want to take home, the items you and your family are not allergic to, and the items you like. You will take enough food home to make approximately three meals a day for every member of your household for five days. You are allowed to visit us for food once every two weeks.

The Pickerington Food Pantry is a choice Food Pantry serving residents of the Pickerington Local School District (excluding zip codes 43068 and 43110 which are served by other pantries). We are located in the Olde Village of Pickerington, at 70 Cross Street, Suite B.

If your household income is at or below the income listed above, you are eligible to receive food.