I would like to share a testimony with the church,  well wishers and the nation as a whole of the impact of the food pantry – l can’t even find the  words for it. The safe haven, provision, relief,  unwavering support l and my five children have got from the Northside food pantry over the years. As a singlemother it has not been easy for me over the years.

It’s a privilege that l don’t take for granted, and l am very thankful for it as it has helped me to feed my family when l had nowhere else to turn to. The food pantry provides us and many other families with the very basic but most essentials for a household to be run and for a family to be sustained. I recall having had to relocate, and that warranted us being unable to attend church services on Sundays for over 4 years, which was a throwback for my family and me, let alone being unable to provide for my family. 

I must admit l sometimes doubted if we were still going to be able to continue getting the much-needed support from the food pantry. I thought to myself, how can we continue to go and collect food parcels when we no longer attend church there? Such is the nature of the “world” out there; once you are no longer “affiliated” to certain groups and even churches, any benefit you were receiving will automatically be cut off.

This, however, was not the case.

I would send my son to collect the food parcels, and he always came back with warm greetings passed on by the staff who handed out the food; it was a source of comfort to be acknowledged. When l was able to collect it, too l was met with warm greetings and had genuine conversations about the welfare of my children and always went back home with a uplifted spirit. This alone is a testimony to the true purpose of the food pantry: It’s there to serve the less privileged and vulnerable, especially in these harsh times. I am comforted by this essential body of the church and very much grateful for it, honestly speaking, as l have never experienced or heard of it before. 

I remember when pastor Gary initiated it, his very words, if my memory  serves me right, were “It will be like a shop in heaven, where you can go in  get what you need for free, at no cost at all”. Things like this only happen in heaven, but here we are today at Northside Community Church. 

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the church members as well as the corporates that have made it a dream come true, it indeed is like shopping in heaven. 

Unlike other organisations, churches or other groups, l can reassure all those who have faithfully given donations of all kinds of groceries that we are receiving them and that they are getting channelled to the very recipients who are indeed in much need of them. We even receive the treats you donate at Christmas and other holidays, which is heartwarming.