Delta Storefront Mission serving Concordia parish for 35 years
There aren’t many options in Concordia Parish for people in need charitable food services – a fact that makes Delta Storefront Mission so important to the community. Supported by the Delta Baptist Association of the Louisiana Baptists Convention, this food pantry has been serving the hungry in Ferriday for 35 years.
The food pantry serves anybody that comes in, according to Edna Craft, who has been running Delta Storefront for 20 years. And she serves each client according to their needs. If people are homeless, they receive food that can be eaten out of the package, that they don’t have to cook. If people are diabetic, she looks for foods that meet dietary and health needs. “We do get a lot from Walmart that is diabetic food, thank goodness.”
Craft is referring to Walmart’s Retail Recovery Program, where local Walmart stores donate food to food pantries in their communities. Delta Storefront Mission receives food from the program once a week, and Craft notes that sometimes the amount of food they receive from Walmart is overwhelming, but they will give it all out over time. “Walmart, they come through for us. They really do.” With 5 large chest freezers and several large coolers, they are able to keep up with the steady flow of donations and distributions.
Unlike many food pantries that have switched to drive-through operations during the pandemic, Delta Storefront hasn’t changed its operations because many clients are homeless or don’t have a vehicle. “Most clients walk. We want to give a lot of food, but sometimes we can’t. Sometimes someone will bring a buggy or get a ride, but most of our clients are walk-ins.”
Some clients have to visit the pantry 15 or 16 days each month, because they can only carry home enough food for a day or two.
The pantry currently serves about 250 people a month, but served 300-400 monthly pre-COVID. Craft credits the additional resources that have been coming into the community to help during the pandemic, allowing people to get food from more places. But she’s afraid that once the extra aid stops coming in, the pantry will once again be just about the only option around, and they’ll be flooded with more people in need than ever.
Delta Storefront Mission serves clients Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to noon. To learn more, call
318-757-3267.
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