This Columbia pantry is praying for a miracle to avoid shutting down at Christmastime
God’s Storehouse needs a miracle.
The northeast Columbia food and clothing pantry has been hanging by threads for a few years, sometimes barely able to pay its mortgage and utility bills while serving hundreds of hurting families.
Now, it might not hold on much longer, said Smiley Tynes, who manages the 28-year-old pantry as a volunteer.
“We’ve been hanging in,” Tynes said.
Not a single paid employee works for God’s Storehouse. A board handles its finances.
It’s supported by financial donations from local churches and individuals and some grants, Tynes said. But they’re barely enough to consistently cover each month’s bills, and volunteers pay out of their own pockets for things like gas in the pantry’s pickup and delivery trucks.
God’s Storehouse has plenty of everything but money.
“I’ve got nothing but food, nothing but clothing,” Tynes said. “There’s so much stuff that gets donated and given here. ... I’m saying, ‘God, if you want us to close, what am I going to do with all this stuff?’”
Normally, everything at God’s Storehouse is free.
But on Saturday, the pantry will sell items as a last-ditch effort to raise money to stay afloat a little longer and to help as many families as possible.
For $10 Saturday, anyone can fill a garbage bag with anything they want from the pantry — “Everything in the room but the clock on the wall,” Tynes said. Or, you can buy a bag and donate it to someone who can’t afford to fill their own.
Tynes believes she has enough goods to raise enough money to cover expenses for another month or so. But board members are considering selling the building if they can’t figure out how to make ends meet going forward, she said. That would force the pantry to close.
Not only does God’s Storehouse need money to cover expenses, Tynes said, but it needs help managing the money.
“We need business people,” she said. “We’ve got to be good stewards.”
God’s Storehouse is open Monday through Thursday to provide free food, clothing, household supplies and toys to hundreds of families in the east and northeast areas of Columbia and Richland County. It partners with numerous grocery stores and restaurants to collect food donations, which it often shares with local churches who run food banks of their own.
The pantry often is a first stop for people who leave emergency shelters and need to fill their basic needs, Tynes said.
“Especially this time of year, this is the time when people need the most hope and inspiration,” Tynes said. “So we’re going to try to give as much as we can.”
If you go
God’s Storehouse will host its $10 charity bag sale Saturday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. until at least 1 p.m. It is located at 1737 Risley Road, Columbia. For more information about the pantry, including how to donate or receive help, visit www.godsstorehousesc.org.
