KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, a sandwich board sign is set up on the sidewalk of the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, which sits at the corner of Third and Church streets.
The sign announces the afternoon giveaways on those days by the Kelseyville Food Pantry, a partnership of the Kelseyville Presbyterian, Kelseyville Methodist and the Unitarian Universalists of Lake County.
The pantry is about to celebrate its fifth year of operation, with the volunteers planning a celebration on March 8.
Begun in the depths of the Great Recession, the need that has fueled the pantry's creation shows no sign of slowing down, according to organizers.
In fact, the need continues to grow, said Kelseyville Presbyterian Pastor Steve Nesheim, whose church hosts the twice-monthly giveaways in its fellowship hall.
Kelseyville Presbyterian Church Secretary Julie Berry called the food pantry's numbers for 2015 “gratifying and sad all at the same time.”
During 2015, the food pantry fed 4,700 people with a total of 1,600 bags of groceries, Berry said.
The annual statistics Berry shared showed the food pantry served an average of 391 people per month, or an average of 196 people per giveaway.
The food pantry spent $7,200 on food in 2015, which breaks down to $45 per bag of groceries distributed, Berry reported.
The giveaway numbers are highest in the winter months – January, February and March – as most workers are not in the fields and vineyards as yet, and heating bills are higher overall, according to Berry. The slower months are September, October and the first part of November, when people are working more in local agriculture.
Berry said the food pantry did two giveaways of turkeys and chickens over the holidays, and supplied fresh produce from the Kelseyville High garden all summer long.
In addition to the resources offered by the food pantry's sponsoring churches, donations of funds and food come from private individuals. At Kelseyville Presbyterian, one way church members participate is by bringing certain food staples on specific Sundays.
“People are real generous,” said Oleta Simpson, one of the stalwart volunteers who keeps the giveaways going on in orderly and efficient fashion.
Local organizations also have played a significant role in funding the food pantry.
The Lake County Hunger Task Force gave the food pantry a $1,200 grant, Simpson said, and for three years running, Sutter Lakeside Hospital has awarded the food pantry a $5,000 grant, with the most recent check arriving in November. In December, the pantry also received $2,000 from the Wine Alliance.
Nesheim said the food pantry's efforts are assisted by a group of dedicated bargain hunters who do the shopping, to make the donated dollars stretch the farthest.
Many helping hands
Simpson and husband Rich are among the cheerful and dedicated volunteers who greet people visiting the pantry twice monthly.
Many of the volunteers, like the Simpsons, and Bill and Maggie Magoolaghan, have been with the food pantry since the beginning.
A group of about a dozen volunteers gathered early on the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 26, to set up tables, put out supplies and get ready for the distribution.
A line of people waited outside the church well before the doors opened at 3:30 p.m.
Just before they welcomed guests inside, Nesheim and the group of volunteers stopped, formed a circle, held hands and prayed.
Nesheim prayed for those they would help that day and looked forward to a time when the food pantry's services would no longer be needed.
When food pantry clients arrived, they checked in at a table where Madelene Lyon greeted them, asked for their name, the number of people in their family and where they were from, with the answers generally Kelseyville or, sometimes, Lakeport.
People of all ages – from babies to seniors – visit the giveaways.
Volunteers take the clients “shopping” – ushering them through the tables, circled in the middle of the Kelseyville Presbyterian Fellowship Hall, to pick out the items they want and need.
It's a practiced process that is carried out without judgment, with the goal of blessing each person that comes in. Each client is greeted warmly, addressed by name and treated with dignity.
As the food pantry has continued to operate, the volunteers have gotten to know the people they serve. When guests arrive, those who have visited before are recognized, greeted, asked about how they're doing. Volunteers stop and listen, make eye contact, smile, and offer genuine hospitality.
Nesheim urges those who volunteer to leave their judgments behind, explaining that you cannot second-guess the choices made by a person in need.
“We operate on grace,” Nesheim said.
Volunteers say that the food pantry has sensitized them to a group of people who they may not have paid attention to previously.
“For the most part, these folks are working poor or retired and they are very grateful for what they've received here,” said Nesheim.
On Jan. 26, the tables were laden with cans of vegetables, fruit and soup, with other offerings including boxes of macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, beans, bread, hot dogs and eggs.
Tables nearer the door were heaped with potatoes, lettuce and oranges.
The bonus table includes random items that have been donated in supplies small enough that there isn't enough for an entire table, like juice, oatmeal and instant potatoes, personal supplies like deodorant and toilet paper, or occasionally clothing items like hats and socks. Visitors may each choose one item from that table.
At Christmas, a knitting group that meets at the church donated handmade scarves and gloves for children, according to food pantry volunteers.
Still another little table had small bags of dog food, and on the corner of the table was a picture of the late Walt Lyon, well-known Kelseyville resident – and husband of Madelene – who died in 2015.
The dog food table was his idea, the volunteers explained. That day, it was one of the items gone the quickest.
Madelene Lyon recalled how the idea for the dog food table got started. She said husband Walt was at a food pantry giveaway one day and spotted what he thought was a can of dog food on the bonus table. He picked it up to look at it, but realized it was a can of beans.
He felt there needed to be dog food on hand for their guests, and he went about ensuring that it was added to the offerings. And, in memory of his efforts and concern, his picture remains on the dog food table, a good-hearted patron saint of the four-legged set.
Food pantry volunteer Nancy Horne sat on a chair along one of the fellowship hall's walls, cradling an adorable baby girl wearing a crocheted cap whose young mother was going through the pantry line. As Horne talked to her, the baby's face blossomed into a smile, just as her mother arrived, also smiling, to collect her for the trip home.
While the food pantry is open from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., most of the food is generally given away within the first 30 minutes to an hour, according to volunteers.
On Jan. 26, they served 49 people in 16 minutes, a new record. Nesheim noted that at the end of the month, the need often is the greatest.
That day's distribution totaled 89 bags of groceries for 254 people, Berry said.
Two weeks later, at the Feb. 9 food pantry giveaway, it was another large crowd. This time, a woman brought her dog.
That day's offerings included pasta, meat, canned tomatoes and vegetables, rice, tuna, soup, bread, onions, cereal, potatoes, apples and oranges. The dog food table was once again fully stocked.
After the previous event, in which the tables had emptied quickly, this time the volunteers had prepared by putting out more food.
The early February event wasn't as busy as the previous one. It served 44 people in 16 minutes, compared to the 69 in 15 minutes helped on Jan. 26, and gave out a total of 64 bags of groceries for 244 people.
Once again, there was a large group of volunteers ready and waiting to make the event go smoothly.
“If it wasn't for everybody showing up like this we'd being a heap of trouble,” said Oleta Simpson.
Simpson guessed that the unseasonably warm early February weather was responsible for fewer people coming out, adding they can't predict just how many people they may need to serve from one giveaway to another.
Jim Horne, a Kelseyville Presbyterian Church member and another of the food pantry's dedicated volunteers, was busy that day keeping an eye on the supply levels in the church's storage room.
Horne noted that, after the holidays, the food pantry is usually well-stocked.
However, as they slip into summertime, supplies become thinner. He said at that time of the year it seems like the need tends to be forgotten.
“We get down to pretty sparse,” he said.
The next giveaway is Tuesday, Feb. 23.
For information about donating to the food pantry or receiving assistance, call Kelseyville Presbyterian Church at 707-279-1104. The church is located at 5340 Third St.
Donations also can be sent to the food pantry in care of Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, P.O. box 310, Kelseyville, CA 95451.
Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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