Forward Indiana Opens Food Pantry In Leesburg
February 22, 2021 at 9:33 p.m.
Forward Indiana Opens Food Pantry In Leesburg
By Amanda Bridgman-
Sarah Thompson and Carlos Marcano founded Forward Indiana and put their sixth neighborhood food pantry in at Leesburg.
The pantry is a 6-foot tall cabinet, which is 2 feet wide and has four shelves. Trump Realty owner Theresa Taylor is sponsoring the cabinet outside her business at 103 W. Van Buren St.
Thompson, 33, and Marcano, 35, live in Roanoke. Thompson grew up in North Webster and said she and her boyfriend started the Forward Indiana neighborhood food pantries by placing five around Fort Wayne.
“We started this basically to do what our name says and help move our state forward and stand in the gap left by our government leaders,” Thompson said of the food need.“
The pantries in Fort Wayne have been doing well, Thompson said, with people understanding they’re to be respected and are for anybody.
They’re open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they’re all outdoors, covered in Thompson’s artwork.
“They’re accessible to everyone. Take what you need and give what you can, she said. That’s the idea behind the pantries – people who need something can stop by and take what they need, but it’s also up to the community to restock the pantry.
The focus is on non-perishable
items, Thompson said, but personal hygiene items and winter apparel are something for the community to consider putting inside too.
On Sunday, Thompson, Marcano, Taylor and other volunteers stocked the pantry with everything from pasta and pasta sauce to diapers.
Taylor got involved because she grew up next door to Thompson and follows her Forward Indiana social media pages.
“I just wouldn’t want anyone to go hungry,” Taylor said about purchasing the $300 cabinet. “I think there’s a need in Leesburg.”
Taylor said her mother, who is 77 years old now, still runs the largest food pantry in Buchanan County, Virginia.
“She would tell me stories about going to bed hungry,” Taylor said. Now, she’s doing her part, too.
To learn more about the pantries – and their daily updates on supply and need – follow Forward Indiana on Facebook and Instagram.
Our motto is “Solidarity, not charity,” Thompson said.
Sarah Thompson and Carlos Marcano founded Forward Indiana and put their sixth neighborhood food pantry in at Leesburg.
The pantry is a 6-foot tall cabinet, which is 2 feet wide and has four shelves. Trump Realty owner Theresa Taylor is sponsoring the cabinet outside her business at 103 W. Van Buren St.
Thompson, 33, and Marcano, 35, live in Roanoke. Thompson grew up in North Webster and said she and her boyfriend started the Forward Indiana neighborhood food pantries by placing five around Fort Wayne.
“We started this basically to do what our name says and help move our state forward and stand in the gap left by our government leaders,” Thompson said of the food need.“
The pantries in Fort Wayne have been doing well, Thompson said, with people understanding they’re to be respected and are for anybody.
They’re open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they’re all outdoors, covered in Thompson’s artwork.
“They’re accessible to everyone. Take what you need and give what you can, she said. That’s the idea behind the pantries – people who need something can stop by and take what they need, but it’s also up to the community to restock the pantry.
The focus is on non-perishable
items, Thompson said, but personal hygiene items and winter apparel are something for the community to consider putting inside too.
On Sunday, Thompson, Marcano, Taylor and other volunteers stocked the pantry with everything from pasta and pasta sauce to diapers.
Taylor got involved because she grew up next door to Thompson and follows her Forward Indiana social media pages.
“I just wouldn’t want anyone to go hungry,” Taylor said about purchasing the $300 cabinet. “I think there’s a need in Leesburg.”
Taylor said her mother, who is 77 years old now, still runs the largest food pantry in Buchanan County, Virginia.
“She would tell me stories about going to bed hungry,” Taylor said. Now, she’s doing her part, too.
To learn more about the pantries – and their daily updates on supply and need – follow Forward Indiana on Facebook and Instagram.
Our motto is “Solidarity, not charity,” Thompson said.
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