In a Place Far Away… But not Too Far
Contributed by Melissa J. Martin
There is an Anchor Point Food Pantry with a vital mission in the Anchor Point area, catching people that fall through the cracks – Seniors, Veterans, Disabled, and the working class that make a little too much to qualify for SNAP or heating assistance, but they must still pay the rent and buy their medication. With nine board members that truly care, the APFP brings health and healing to the community by providing nutritious meals and a food box to families once a week.
The Anchor Point Food Pantry lost its home during Covid19 in 2021. After having been housed in a church for nine years, we grew to a capacity that they could no longer support. We weren’t a part of their church, so on good terms we left to venture on our own. Thanks to the 100 Women Who Care in Homer and a local resident, we were able to set up camp for that summer and continue our mission. The Kenai Peninsula Food Bank helped us keep clients fed with meals and food.
Long story short, we are now leasing a 3.5-acre piece of Kenai Peninsula Borough land to build our food pantry, and we received a sizable grant for building purposes only. It is possible to move into it this fall, although it won’t be fully completed. We are doing this while we pay $1200 per month for rent (for a place that is too small for us), $1500 for food and supplies, $400 for fuel, etc.
We have been operating in Anchor Point since 2006. Our programs are as follows [Partners to our programs are in ()]: The TEFAP Program (KP food bank [KPFB]); A summer produce program (Food Bank of AK and KPFB); holiday boxes and dinners program (Lions Club/S. Army boxes and the Share-the-Spirit Christmas boxes, and Hilcorp); Children's program -“Kid's Day” & Back-to-School ( KPFB, the Homer Foundation, and Ace Hardware); Homeless & Marginal program (Homer Community Resource Connect, Bridges of Alaska, and local vendors); and Several of our volunteers provide a delivery service to the homebound, and have delivered to as many as 100 households during Covid.
We need help on our journey, and our neighbors need to be fed; as we, at the same time, work to raise funds, seek grants, and construct a permanent home for the pantry.
We are building a donor base, but it takes time. We’re hoping that a few good people will look kindly upon us and help us with this endeavor. We live in a community with no supermarkets and few physical resources, but we know our community (Alaska) is full of caring hearts who can provide those resources. Please consider supporting the good work of feeding our neighbors. Together we can make this happen so that we can provide food now and long into the future. Thank you.
Melissa Martin, E.D., Anchor Point Food Pantry, PO Box 266, Anchor Point, AK 99556