Written by Ava Bonsall. Graphics by Ava Bonsall.
If you’ve been to the Hive, you may not have noticed the food pantry right down the street near Boundary Village. It fits inside the Downtown Compassion Christian Church, taking over the space two Thursdays and two Saturdays a month. They are also looking for volunteers.
The Compassion Christian Downtown Lighthouse Food Pantry is one of 20 other separate food pantries in Savannah. It is also one of six sibling Lighthouse pantries attached to the Compassion Christian Church. They offer both food and various household items to families in need, including but not limited to meals, kitchenware, pillows, blankets and backpacks. They also have bilingual staff members to attend to the Spanish-speaking community, and partner with Second Harvest, a nonprofit food bank, to obtain items guests need.
Lighthouse is looking for compassionate people of Christian faith to help serve their community. There are two different jobs that you can participate in: Clothing Closet and Food Pantry.
Clothing Closet involves talking to the guests to see what types of clothing they may need. You get to interact with the guests to ask them about their clothing needs, working through a list of potential items. Then, you can let your creative side shine in the Clothing Closet, where you’ll match outfits, pick out various clothing articles to pack in a backpack or bag, and hand off to the food pantry.
Food Pantry involves sorting through food and bathroom items to create a bag of supplies for the family or person in need. The guest’s situation is always considered as volunteers plan how much food will be needed for small and large families. If the guest is homeless, their bag will include easy-to-travel items. You can work with a team of other volunteers to fill, sort and give away bags of supplies to the community.
Amid the many other food pantries, Lighthouse’s uniqueness derives from its connection to the public. They strive to reach out to anyone in need who comes through their doors, hoping to teach them about Jesus in the process. Volunteers can talk to the guests and form connections with them, learn about their life, and create friendships. They connect with the guests on a spiritual level as well, offering prayer.
“It’s not just a food pantry,” said Pam Lovato, a head Lighthouse leader of the Downtown location. “It’s about reaching to the community to meet the needs through food and clothing. Our obvious goal is to get them in here and to see if we can point them to Jesus. That’s really what our goal is. The food is secondary.”
Are you a part of a church in the area and interested in volunteering? Participate in Growth Track, a three-lesson, three-week course to prepare you for any volunteer work in the Compassion Christian Church. Come to the Downtown campus on a Sunday and talk to a volunteer to get started. The church is also open to donations of food and household items, which can be dropped off in the bin to the left of the lobby by the sanctuary doors.
“Lighthouse is exactly what it says it is, you know,” Lovato said. “It’s a beacon for our community.”
