Christ Episcopal Church is a historical landmark that's home to the all-volunteer Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry known for building community and providing the North Grove with consistent and healthy food for 40 years this month.
The congregation, which has a long tradition of service, was established 123 years ago by West Indian immigrants. One of its earlier leaders, Reverend Theodore Gibson, was a civil rights activist who led the church from 1945 to 1948. Of Bahamian descent, he spearheaded a much-needed effort to improve living conditions in Coconut Grove.
The pantry launched in October 1984 when a few partitioners brought food to homebound people. It functions as an independent LLC with plenty of supportive partners, but there are four stakeholders: St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Christ Episcopal Church, St. Philip's Episcopal Church, and Plymouth Congregational Church.
Deb Dolson is on the board as the director of outreach, but she likes to be called a volunteer. Her father was the rector at St. Stephen's and known in the Grove as "the street priest" when the pantry first opened. She was living overseas at the time, teaching at American schools while her husband worked as a geologist. As one of the few geologist spouses who had a job, she always wanted to volunteer to get to know her community in a more intimate way. When she returned to South Florida nine years ago, a neighbor referred her to the pantry.
"I've loved it from the first day," she says. "The second I arrived, I loved every minute of it. The people were wonderful. The volunteers: What a beautiful group of men and women to work with. It was a new volunteer world that I always wanted to participate in but never had the opportunity."
Volunteers Have an Unwavering Dedication to Their Community
How does the food pantry work? Each Sunday, the pantry receives donations from 10 a.m. until noon, with major contributions coming from Food Rescue US South Florida and Enriched Foods Miami, which provide food from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Sprouts. Volunteers organize and sift through the donations. Then, on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon, the room is bustling with volunteers who assemble 230 bags. By 11 a.m., bags are all packed, ready to be delivered."We want our clients to have the things [we] would buy for ourselves. Our volunteers all feel that," Dolson says. People packing bags know what their clients want to eat and try to ensure they receive it. The food is healthy and balanced. No matter what income bracket you're in, you deserve to have healthy, quality food."
Volunteers also prepare special bags for unhoused people who can't cook, for people who are Halal, or who live on boats. They try to meet each person's needs. They only serve the Coconut Grove area, but if someone comes in for food that doesn't live there, they give them a complementary bag and a list of operating food pantries in their area. The pantry also makes hurricane preparation kits for clients, just in case a storm hits.
Volunteers are at the heart of this endeavor. About 50 or 60 people are dedicated to their various roles at the pantry. But when the COVID pandemic hit and face-to-face interactions were discouraged, they started to deliver food to clients.
While some folks pack bags or act as drivers, others work from a computer, like Nicholas Smith, who got involved with the pantry when he moved to Miami from London a few years back. As the chair of the outreach board at Plymouth Congregational Church, he strengthens the pantry's network of community partners, which includes Temple Judea, Milam's, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, and Ransom Everglades School. Many provide financial support, while others, like Santander Bank, provide volunteers. "The pantry gives me an opportunity to give back to a community that has welcomed me," he says. "The pantry is a group of people trying to help each other, and that's what's so cool about it."
Looking Ahead: Sustainability Practices and Launching a Youth Council
The Kampong, a Grove-area botanical garden, donates fresh produce that they pull right off the trees. "Sometimes they send things and we don't know what it is! They tell us what it is and how to make it," Dolson says. They include recipes for these fruits and vegetables in the bags. "The breadth of donors we have in our community is astounding to me. The generosity and the giving spirit that people have for this pantry is fantastic," she adds.Volunteers at the pantry are also conscious of their impact on the planet. They compost all organic materials and recycle cardboard and plastics. A group of women they work with even take their plastic bags and weave them into colorful mats with matching bags for people who have no homes. They distribute them to clients.
The pantry recently launched a youth council to get high school students involved. Students Offering Support is just one group that brings their enthusiasm and ability to carry heavy boxes to the endeavor. "We're looking back at our past 40 years, and now we're looking to our future," shares Dolson.
Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry is always looking for new partners and donations.
Christ Episcopal Church. 3481 Hibiscus St., Coconut Grove; chrepch.org.
