Stretching budgets: Choice Food Pantry vs. grocery store
When Care Center Friends visit the Choice Food Pantry, they aren’t just given a box of pre-selected items. We instead focus on truly stretching budgets by providing Friends with a dignifying shopping experience that centers around choice.
But how exactly do we do that? Well, why don’t we show you?
The Choice Food Pantry Experience
Grace Care Center Foundation Executive Director Cara Augspurger recently walked through the experience of stretching budgets in the Choice Food Pantry.
She was first welcomed by Care Center Community Engagement Director Sophie Osgood, and they determined that Cara’s household would typically receive 45 points each week in the Care Center.
From there, Cara grabbed a cart and selected items in the Choice Food Pantry that her family would normally purchase in a week. Sophie walked alongside her, providing her guidance and totalling up her points, just as any volunteer would for our Care Center Friends.
For 45 points, Cara was able to select:
Meat & Dairy: Two half gallons of milk, one dozen eggs, and one whole chicken
Deli: A pre-cooked rack of St. Louis-style ribs
Produce: One bag of onions, one bag of potatoes, one bunch of asparagus, one head of iceberg lettuce, one bunch of bananas, and two oranges
Shelf-Stable Goods: Two packs of peaches, two boxes of cereal, one box of instant oatmeal packets, one pack of protein snack bars, one large box of coffee pods, one bag of snack crackers, one box of pre-packaged snack mix bags, and one box of pre-packaged sweat treats
Bakery: One loaf of whole grain bread
Household Items: One package of toilet paper, one variety pack of cold medicine, one large bottle of mouthwash, one bottle of sunscreen, and one family pack of bandages
After making her choices and shopping with dignity, Sophie continued the experience by asking Cara if there is anything she needs to pray for – something that every Friend is asked, every week.
You can watch Cara’s Choice Food Pantry shopping experience here.
The Choice Food Pantry vs. a Local Grocery Store
But after shopping in the Choice Food Pantry, Cara was curious. How much would her selection of groceries cost if she purchased the same things at a local grocery store?
So, she headed out to do just that!
And what she discovered truly puts into perspective the very real impact you have on the lives of Care Center Friends when you support the Choice Food Pantry.
After shopping for the same selection of items at the grocery store, Cara found that she would have spent $210.61!
This is the reality for a household the same size as Cara’s – two adults and three children. Just one week’s worth of basic food and household items costs more than $200.
Add that to housing costs, transportation needs, and other necessities like medical appointments, clothing, and school supplies, and it’s easy to see why many families in our area are having a difficult time.
And that’s what we mean by stretching budgets – instead of having to choose between which bills to pay or necessities to buy, visiting the Choice Food Pantry makes it possible for families to cover it all.
Beyond Stretching Budgets
The Care Center exists to walk alongside Central Indiana families, empowering them with tools and resources to keep moving forward, build independence, and create lasting change.
This journey often starts in the Choice Food Pantry, where we don’t just focus on stretching budgets. Here, we also focus on shopping with dignity.
We believe that everyone deserves to be treated with honor and respect, no matter their current circumstances. Many of our Care Center Friends are experiencing crises or challenges, but feeling embarrassed or looked down upon can be a barrier to them seeking the assistance they need. And this limited access to resources leads to a continuation of the cycle of poverty.
With our grocery-store-style experience in the Choice Food Pantry, these Friends don’t have to feel embarrassed. Instead, they are provided with the dignifying opportunity to shop for and choose the items that work best for their families.
Our points system is also focused on making sure that every Friend has access to a wide range of goods, including fresh, healthy options that are often priced on the higher side at a typical grocery store. Instead, we “price” these items at a lower points level, providing the families with access to fruit, vegetables, and meat and dairy products that may be out of reach elsewhere.
It is this level of choice and accessibility, paired with the welcoming and supportive community of volunteers we’ve built, that make stretching budgets and shopping with dignity a reality! This experience then fuels hope for our families, showing them that a more stable and independent future is possible.
How You Can Help
It is because of supporters like you that we are able to keep the Choice Food Pantry stocked and continue stretching budgets for Central Indiana families.
But we’re seeing more new families come through our doors than ever before. We aren’t willing to back down or turn people away, but we need your help!
Will you make a gift today to help us stock the shelves? Your donation will go right to work to purchase the wide variety of options we provide Care Center Friends.
Your support will stretch budgets, provide a dignifying experience, and fuel hope for your neighbors!
