By SEAN HILDRETH, for The Democrat

Food storage capacity at the Society of St. Vincent DePaul of Brown County (SVDP) food pantry has been an issue for some time. With limited capacity to accept donations of frozen bulk foods and more fresh foods, the county was sometimes unable to accept food assistance for those in need.

The COVID crisis brought this issue to focus, as community leaders realized the lack of available food storage space when hosting pop-up pantries with the Brown County COAD. That is why the Brown County Community Foundation (BCCF) Board of Trustees recently approved a Rapid Response Fund grant for the expansion of SVDP’s storage capacity with the purchase of a new walk-in cooler/freezer.

“At BCCF, we are glad to support grants that will increase our community’s ability to respond to food insecurity now and into the future,” said Maddison Miller, BCCF CEO. “We are particularly pleased that this grant will increase SVDP’s ability to receive bulk foods and healthy, fresh vegetables that will help sustain many in our county.”

Without industrial types of coolers, SVDP has relied on 15 assorted household-sized freezers and refrigerators to stock food.

“We have had to decline bulk offerings from Midwest Food and Hoosier Hills Food Bank unless we could break the delivery into smaller units for storage,” said Shirley Boardman, SVDP volunteer.

“With more freezer space, we can extend the useful life of food items by keeping them frozen until ready for distribution. Also, with this expanded storage capacity, we could better respond to donations that might be viable for Mother’s Cupboard. Sometimes, the county is offered a donation and neither of us can accept it at that time, but with expanded storage, we could accept the donation and keep the perishable items safe for a distribution later that week or the next week.”

Currently, data suggests that more than 10 percent of the county lacks necessary food. SVDP shared that in the past year, it has provided food for 1,636 different individuals, of whom 585 were children.

SVDP has served Brown County continuously for 32 years. Operating as a food pantry and distribution center, volunteers come primarily from St. Agnes Catholic Church and St. David’s Episcopal Church. Seven churches routinely contribute to the food supply: Becks Grove Christian Church, Christianburg United Methodist Church, Church of the Lakes, Nashville Christian Church, Nashville United Methodist Church, St. Agnes Catholic Church and St. David’s Episcopal Church.

Utilities are the only regular expense of the organization.

“Overall, we reach approximately 9 to 10 percent of the Brown County community each year with food, emergency assistance, household goods, and furniture,” Boardman said.

SVDP hopes to have the new cooler units installed by mid-summer.

Boardman shared gratitude “for the Rapid Response Fund and for the donors that have given to help with the response to this pandemic and recovery. This grant will have an immediate and lasting impact on our work for Brown County.”

The goal of the Rapid Response Fund is to support nonprofits helping people who are experiencing hardship because of the outbreak, related closures and disruptions. The fund has assisted local social service agencies, healthcare organizations, food service organizations, and emergency responders to address needs such as personal protective gear, equipment or supplies; support for communications or public awareness campaigns; and funding for other operational and emergency needs.

Information about the fund can be found at browncountygives.org. Donors can give via the website or by texting TOGETHERBC to 44-321.

The Brown County Community Foundation supports charitable organizations in broad areas of community need: education, social services, health care, arts and humanities, and environment. It can be reached at 812-988-4882.

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