St. John Vianney Interfaith Food Pantry Opens

Over the last few weeks, Larry Donnelly has been as happy as a kid in a candy store, even if that candy store is really the gleaming new St. John Vianney Interfaith Food Pantry in Prince Frederick.

The 3,000-square-foot facility, which opened in mid-January after eight months of construction, was a near eight-year dream for Donnelly.

“It's … it's … something,” Donnelly said during a tour last week. “It's a dream.”

The facility, which still has that new paint smell, is streamlined to allow patrons the opportunity to move up and down the aisles and select food items, which are neatly stored and clearly labeled.

The new food pantry, which cost a bit more than $600,000 to build, is a huge step up from its former home, which consisted of the first floor and basement of a nearby home.

“I realized the first week we were open that we needed a bigger place,” Donnelly said, “so I said, 'I think we need a new food pantry,' and they looked at me like I was crazy.”

“I'm thrilled, especially when I see some of the people that are on our board that don't have to work in the basement anymore,” St. John Vianney Interfaith Food Pantry Finance Manager Rocky Ragano said. “Just to see their eyes light up is satisfying.”

The food pantry receives donations from area businesses such as Giant and Panera, while Safeway and local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops help by holding numerous food drives. The food pantry also purchases items at a large discount from the Maryland Food Bank.

Donnelly said produce is received “as often as we can get it” from the Chesapeake Land Trust and Serenity Farms.

Each food item is meticulously weighed and catalogued, and the food pantry — which first opened in 2011 — donated its 1 millionth pound of food a few weeks ago. Ragano said the facility is currently housing 14,000 pounds of food. A family of four would receive a donation of about 70 pounds of food at a time.

In those early days, the pantry helped 35 families, and then 50. There are now 480 eligible families registered, of which about 125 require assistance on a regular basis.

Families hoping to get a donation from the food pantry need to register beforehand but, if necessary, can get food and then register at a later time.

“If you knock on our door, we know you need something,” Donnelly said, “We didn't open this up to close the doors.”

The food pantry is open 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, but beginning in March will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every second Saturday in March. It is located at 185 Holy Family Lane in Prince Frederick behind St. John Vianney Catholic Church.

The original plan for the building was going to be a prefabricated structure. But that was shelved and the facility went up on the site of an old dumping ground.

“One hundred and sixty-one trucks came out with stuff,” Donnelly said, “and 181 trucks came in with stuff.”

Donnelly said the building is 85 percent paid for and he hopes to get a bond from the state to pay off the rest. The facility, which he said is a separate entity from the church, is managed by a staff of four and 130 volunteers.

For more information, call 410-286-1944 or 410-535-0223, or go to www.sjvchurch.net/food-pantry.