The Tomah Health Community Foundation is doing its part to fight food insecurity in Monroe County.
Members donated $1,000 to the Oasis Food Pantry to support the organization located at the Oasis Church along Hwy. 21 northwest of Tomah.
Pantry marketing representative Matthew Brown said church officials decided to continue the pantry after a decision by Ruby’s Pantry to end support of area pantries earlier this year.
“We saw the need every month for over a decade of around 200 families or so would come through, and we didn’t want to stop that because there were people who were expecting it,” explained Brown.
The church had been supplied food from Ruby’s Pantry for about 12- years. Ruby’s Pantry, a faith-based nonprofit that ran at least 80 food shelf locations across Minnesota and the upper Midwest, abruptly ceased operations earlier this year saying the ministry was no longer financially sustainable.
Brown said the Oasis Food Pantry has been helping nearly 170 families a month during its distribution held the first Monday of each month. “We used initially some of the food that we had left over from the previous distribution. Then we sourced what we could and then every month we’ve been able to source more and more, and we had generous donations,” added Brown.
He said they have been blessed to receive food donations from various area businesses including Walmart, KFC, Starbucks and Martin Trucking, just to mention a few.
Along with his mother, Oasis Church pastor Nancy Brown and his father, Oasis head pastor Steve Brown, Matt says the church congregation has come together to run the pantry. “I think it’s really good for the church community because everyone gets to come together and serve every month. It brings everybody together and it’s really refreshing to see so many people come and volunteer.” He also welcomed volunteers to join the effort.
Tomah Health Community Foundation president Brian Eirschele said the foundation’s donation fulfills the mission of the foundation to help not-for-profit organizations that enhance the health and wellness of residents in Monroe County. “It’s providing for the people of Monroe County, which is the whole initiative behind the Tomah Health Foundation,” said Eirschele. “I think we found a really perfect candidate for the generosity and charity to our local community with the Oasis Food Pantry.”
The next scheduled food distribution at the Oasis Food Pantry will take place Aug. 3. To learn more about the Oasis Food Pantry, visit their website at www.OasisChurchTomah.org