Penny's Pantry keeps shining light of Christ

By Rob Herbst
The Catholic Week
Penny’s Pantry and St. John the Evangelist Parish in Ozark continue taking God’s call to service to heart.
The food pantry has been a vital ministry at the parish and for Dale County residents in need for nearly a decade, having distributed more than 500,000 pounds of food as of earlier this summer. Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi marked that milestone by celebrating Mass for food pantry volunteers on Aug. 11.
“Our job there is to spread God's love and kindness. It's to make everyone feel loved and know we're here to help,” said Penny’s Pantry manager Carolyn Thieme.
The food pantry was a vision of Sr. Penny Smith, OP who served in the Wiregrass area. According to volunteer Janet Amuso, Sr. Smith and volunteers went to then-pastor Fr. Fred Boni about beginning a food pantry and Fr. Boni jumped on board. 
The pantry had humble beginnings in January 2014. Amuso said it began in the front of Fr. Boni’s office as volunteers prepared about 20 bags of food and put out a sign and “waited to see who would come.”
Word got out and the pantry outgrew the pastor’s office. Now the pantry serves about 125 households on the first Friday of each month with the help of about 20 volunteers. 
Since the pantry became formalized and the parish began recording numbers in 2015, Amuso said 2,135 different individuals have been served. There’s no telling how many in total, as repeat visitors aren’t counted.
“Penny’s Pantry has been such a ray of light in God’s love to the people of Dale County because it is putting our Catholic values in service to the poor,” said current pastor Fr. Chris Boutin. “We’ve been hearing all this month at Mass from John 6 ‘The Bread of Life Discourse,’ and this is a reminder that we as Catholics are fed with the Body of Christ at Mass so that we can become more fully his mystical body in service to our neighbors in need.  
“Those neighbors are not always in distant places.  Rather, we have plenty of need right here in Dale County and the residents here have known for nine years that there are many faithful in the area that love them.”
Thieme said the food pantry gets the bulk of its food from a Dothan food bank. Volunteers visit every Monday and the Thursday before distribution day in hopes of obtaining fresh produce. Volunteers also bag the items. Amuso said there’s about 25 pounds of food in a bag for one or two-person household, and more for bigger households.
Those in need line up between 9-10:30 a.m. on the first Friday.
“Sr. Penny used to say ‘If we feed only one hungry person today at the food pantry, or if we feed 100 hungry people, we have done God's work,” Amuso said. And there's always someone who needs our help. Just look around and you'll see them.”
“Penny’s Pantry” has grown beyond a parish ministry. The pantry had been serving on the first and third Fridays of the month. In 2020, neighbor Ozark Baptist Church volunteered to take one of the distribution days.
Volunteers from both St. John the Evangelist and Ozark Baptist Church assist at both locations, Thieme  said.
“Sister Penny had kind of a vision that it would be more of a communal-type ministry, Amuso said. 
The food pantry was officially named “Penny’s Pantry” in 2019. She passed away in May although her impact continues.
“She got her nickname ‘Penny’ from the song ‘Pennies from Heaven’ … and I always think it’s so appropriate because Penny was sent from Heaven,” Amuso said. “She always, always reminded us how we’re here to serve God and to be a servant.”