Johnson City church food pantry receives grant from Music for the Mission

JOHNSON CITY (WBNG) - First Presbyterian Church’s food pantry received a grant from Music for the Mission as part of the organization’s “60 Pantries in 60 Days” initiative.

The food pantry was started 10 years ago by the church’s pastor as a way to live their faith and give back to the community. The parish has existed since the 1890s.

“We don’t want people to merely survive. We want to give them the opportunity to thrive,” said Amy Abbey, outreach program director at First Presbyterian Church in Johnson City.

Partnership supports community needs

Abbey praised Music for the Mission for their efforts.

“We’re all in this together. So when we as pantries are kind of the front lines, but we can’t do it alone. So we rely on our amazing partners. Music for the Mission is one of those amazing partners that stands together with us to make sure that we can continue to provide consistent access to food and basic needs for our community,” Abbey said.

The church provides more than food to the local community. Services include clothing, safe showers by appointment, small household items, bedding, medical equipment and weekly community dinners made with fresh ingredients.

Abbey said she feels privileged to be part of the effort.

“I was born and raised here. These are my neighbors. This is my community. I don’t want people to just merely survive. I want people to thrive. Our goal here is to help people move from crisis to consistency because living in crisis is a terrible way to live. And there’s so much opportunity here,” Abbey said.

The pantry relies on volunteers from the community.

“I call it a volunteer family because if someone doesn’t come for a while, it’s, hey, how are they doing? What’s going on? But we do have a lot of community members who want to give back. They want to be a part of the solution,” Abbey said.