Knollwood Heights UMC

In a housing project near Knollwood Heights United Methodist Church in Rapid City, South Dakota, residents struggle with food scarcity and often don't have enough in their pantry to feed their children or themselves. The age-old issue of hunger can resurface where we least expect it, yet it’s a central theme to so much of our Christian faith and Christ’s physical ministry.

When they finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”  Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”  John 21:15, NIV

The shelves of the Knollwood pantry are filled with basic staples people want for their families. Photos by Dave Stucke.

In some communities, food assistance is available at churches, but people hesitate to enter a church building to receive it. In a nearby Rapid City, South Dakota, townhomes complex, Rev. Sharla McCaskell, Aletha Parke, and some other members of Knollwood Heights UMC saw an opportunity to feed their neighbors. They forged ahead without expecting the recipients to enter the

Food pantry makes an impact.

RCPD Sergeant Eric Dwyer has been very engaged in the Knollwood complex and organizing community sponsors. He recently spoke to the Knollwood Heights UMC congregation and was moved to tears as he told his story of being able to help a family in dire need.
 

Rev. Sharla McCaskell, right, speaks with Journey On representatives Cory and Tanya, and RCPD Community Engagement Specialist Tyler Read at the Treehouse.

“The Community Outreach team spoke that day,” Pastor Sharla McCaskell recounted. He [Sergeant Dwyer] was giving some examples of times in the middle of the night when a family needed food; they had nothing. And he went up there and filled the box from the pantry, and he said, 'You know, it's pretty humbling to go into somebody's home, and literally what you're handing them is all the food they've got.' To us it doesn't seem like that big a deal. But to them, it was survival."

The Knollwood free food pantry continues to feed families in the neighborhood and is stocked by volunteers from Knollwood Heights UMC. Parke, who has always had a heart for missions, sorts and stocks donations from the church and community, and purchases food mostly from Feeding South Dakota. Parke says through Knollwood UMC's non-profit account, she can buy food for 18 cents per pound, which multiplies the cash donations from Knollwood's members and friends dramatically.
 

RCPD Community Engagement Specialist Tyler Read chats with community volunteeers at the Treehouse, which he designed and painted. to be a fun after-school hangout for youth.

Providing food that people want takes fine-tuning. At one time, Parke noticed that canned goods weren’t being taken, so she inquired to find out why.

“Many times, it's because they didn't have can openers," she said. “So, we put out the word to the congregation that we needed can openers.”

Knollwood UMC members collected can openers, and they were given out with canned food, which then began to move off the shelves again.

Finding the right foods at an affordable price from the distributors also requires finesse. Parke buys most of the pantry’s food from Feeding South Dakota's Rapid City warehouse, but she also supplements that with food from local stores. A typical order from Feeding South Dakota is $200, which equates to over 1,100 pounds of food.

Rev. Sharla McCaskell, left, and Aletha Parke take a moment at the Knollwood pantry. Photo courtesy of RCPD facebook.

“They don't always have what you need, so I go online quite often, at least once a week, and see what is available because their supply is varied,” she said.

Once a month, other church volunteers help transport the food from the warehouse to the pantry, where it's stacked on accessible shelves and in refrigerators. Anyone from that complex and other neighborhood complexes can choose from various free food items.

"It's something I can't give up," said Parke. I keep thinking I'm too old to do this, but I can't give it up because I know how important it is, and I know what it is to be short on cash. You know, my heart just goes out to those people that need it so desperately."

Resources:
Feeding South Dakota 
Knollwood Heights UMC
Knollwood Heights Facebook page
Rapid City Police Department Community Engagement