For nearly 15 years, the Cherry Hill Food Pantry has been a staple in the local community – and for volunteers and clients alike, the ecumenical effort extends beyond providing food.
“They become like friends, some like family,” says Janet Giordano, pantry director. “Before the pandemic, people used to come in, sit down, talk to each other. They all knew each other, we knew them and you would hear stories. I knew women from when they were pregnant, and next thing you know, their child is right next to them.”
Sandy Czerniakowski of Saint Mary Parish, Cherry Hill, agrees. “As we walk with the clients, we learn a lot about their circumstances, which in turn, shows each person that they are an individual with worth.”
The Cherry Hill Food Pantry provides food and social services to those in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Marlton and Mount Laurel. Since its 2007 opening, the pantry has been located in two different churches and a shopping center, before moving to its new home at 910 Beechwood Ave., Cherry Hill.
Before the pandemic, clients could do their own shopping. These days, they receive two baskets – one with meats, dairy products, bread, fresh vegetables and more. The other holds about 200 pounds of non-perishable items. Serving clients Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays can make for busy days and evenings, a task made more difficult by the lack of a parking lot.
The free-standing building sits on property with dirt and grass, but no places to park, making it difficult to return to in-person pantry shopping or the beloved long, friendly client visits. The Cherry Hill Food Pantry, a registered nonprofit, is seeking legal help to acquire the needed permits as well as aid to replace the building’s roof.
“We can’t have cars lining up in the street, so the pantry really needs this parking lot,” Giordano said. “It would be a huge, huge blessing to our clients. It was so lovely when they could come inside and shop. It’s more dignified; I wouldn’t want someone to shop for me.”
Giordano and Czerniakowski are just two among dozens of volunteers, donors and local businesses who help keep the Cherry Hill Food Pantry running. The pantry began when a group of likeminded individuals from different faith denominations noticed how those in the community were visiting separate churches for help. “We felt there was a need to consolidate to better serve people in need,” Czerniakowski said.
Today, the food pantry comprises six local Christian and Jewish faiths, and the Catholic parish communities of Saint Mary; the Catholic Community of Christ Our Light, Holy Eucharist, and Saint Thomas More, all Cherry Hill, and Christ the King, Haddonfield. Faithful from these houses of worship rotate serving duties.
“It has amazed me how kind, loyal and dedicated all the different congregations have been to the pantry,” said Giordano, a lifelong Catholic. “Having different faiths coming together over the years, I’ve actually learned how similar we are. When you band together and pull all of your resources, you can do a better job.”
Czerniakowski agreed. “It’s making all of us realize we have more in common than not.”
To learn more about the Cherry Hill Food Pantry, visit cherryhillfoodpantry.org. To help, call 856-910-9090.
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