by Kate Shunney
“On weeks when it looks like we can only feed 10 people, 10 people come,” Eric Thompson says of his work at Louise’s Cupboard, a food pantry outreach in Great Cacapon.
Thompson leads me into the storeroom of the pantry, two rooms into the rectory of Calvary United Methodist Church. It’s a hot summer day and its hot inside, but several people are gathered there – volunteers showing up for a two-hour shift on Wednesday afternoon.
On the shelves are stacks of canned vegetables, jars of spaghetti sauce, boxes of dry pasta, jars of peanut butter, jelly, soups, canned fruit and assorted other shelf-stable foods. In the center of the room is a kitchen table with a bag of food already packed for someone to pick up. More plastic grocery bags are ready to be filled.
There’s plenty of room on the shelves for more food.
Thompson said there is a need, and God provides when it seems that the supplies are about to run out.
“There’s quite a need for such a small community,” he says of Great Cacapon.
Longtime resident Emma Everett works with volunteer Ola Broyles to meet that need on Wednesdays.
“I’ve seen a lot of people with a lot of needs,” said Broyles.
On average, about 10 people come during the two-hour pantry time.
Thompson and others do worry that they can’t always meet the needs of those in Great Cacapon, and definitely not those from elsewhere who are in need.
Donated food comes from members of the church, who tuck items into a basket inside the doorway on Sunday morning, or those who drop by on Wednesday afternoon to add to the stock.
Volunteers also take donated funds to the grocery store to add to their inventory, focusing on staple foods – items that are nutritious and could, in theory, feed two people for a week.
Thompson said the church is awaiting the appointment of a new pastor after the retirement of Pastor Conrad in June. Members are leading the pantry effort, picking up where the pantry’s founder – Louise Spring – left off.
Earlier this month, Spring’s daughters donated a sign in their mother’s honor to hang outside the door of the pantry.
It quotes Matthew 6:11, “Give us today our daily bread” in her memory.
Spring was running a food pantry for Calvary United Methodist before anyone called it that, it seems.
The longtime Great Cacapon resident, church and community leader was known to stock up a room in the basement of the church with canned goods, and would meet people in need anytime to offer them help.
Her daughters, Roxanne Spring and Debbie Weaver, said their mom’s garage was often full of non-perishable food to give to others. She also took advantage of any holiday coupons for free turkeys or the like.
“She’d get a coupon for a free turkey, and you could only get one per visit, and she’d go into 12 times,” said Roxanne.
Then when Thanksgiving or Christmas came along, those turkeys fed a family in Great Cacapon along with food boxes.
Spring opened an official pantry in January of 2018 as the Shepherd’s Cupboard. The pantry closed when COVID hit.
Louise Spring passed away in 2022. Church members have since reopened the pantry as a local ministry of the church and community.
“We are happy to continue to keep Louise’s memory and her commitment to helping the community going through Louise’s Cupboard,” said Thompson.
Donations to help fund the purchase of groceries in Spring’s honor or to support the work of the pantry can be mailed to Calvary United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 217, Great Cacapon, W.Va. 25422.
Individuals who want to donate unexpired non-perishable staple foods can do so at the pantry on Wednesdays between 2 and 4 p.m. or at the church on Sunday mornings.
Pantry coordinators ask that food not be left outside the pantry or church when it is closed.
