RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS: IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO 'CHRISTIAN COMPASSION'

JACKSON -- Dorothy Heise spends her Thursday mornings stacking canned goods and handing out food to the needy at the Jackson Ministerial Alliance food pantry.

"Most of them really need it," she says of those served by the pantry.

Fellow volunteer, Mildred Varnum, agrees. "I was raised during the Depression," she points out. "I have a feeling for the people."

They are among about 20 volunteers who operate the food pantry, providing food to individuals and families in need in the Jackson area.

The pantry provides canned and boxed food to an average of 55 families a month. It operates from the upper floor of New McKendree United Methodist Church Cox Memorial Hall. It is open on Monday and Thursday from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m.

Its shelves are stocked with everything from canned vegetables to pancake mix and syrup.

Those in need can receive 16 different food items in a visit to the pantry. They fill out a form, indicating their food preferences in various categories. Volunteers often will hand out extra food to people if the pantry is well stocked with a particular food item.

An eligible individual or family can obtain food at the pantry once a month.

Those who come to the food pantry receive not only food, but the feeling that someone cares about them, say those involved with the charitable effort.

The Rev. Sam Roethemeyer said the food pantry is designed to help people in the Jackson area. It doesn't have the resources to serve a larger area, said Roethemeyer, who is president of the Jackson Ministerial Alliance.

"We try not to be the grocery store for the whole county," said Roethemeyer.

Some days, there are long lines of people waiting for food. Other days, few show up.

The volunteers show up religiously.

Years ago, individual churches in Jackson operated their own food pantries. But for the past six or seven years, there has been a united effort. The food pantry has operated for the past several years from New McKendree's Cox Memorial hall, Jackson's former city hall.

The food pantry is housed in a large room that once housed the city library.

"We get money from the United Way," said Roethemeyer. The food pantry also depends upon donations from churches, civic groups and individuals.

In addition to the donations of food, the Ministerial Alliance spends about $700 a month on average to stock the pantry, said Kim Martin, the group's treasurer.

Martin said there is no shortage of people needing help. Each month, there are new families requesting assistance as well as some who have received help in the past.

The need for food goes up in the summer when school is out and children are at home, she said.

Roethemeyer said the food pantry works because of the efforts of kind-hearted volunteers.

It all boils down to "Christian compassion," he said.