The STH Food Pantry provides emergency food and personal hygiene items to women and families experiencing homelessness and food-insecure residents of the Gary area to help meet their basic needs.
In 2023, STH served 9,198 households (28,700 individuals) in the food pantry, a 9 percent increase over 2022. All items distributed through the food pantry are inventoried, packaged, and documented by STH staff and pantry volunteers, who also maintain a database of purchases, weights, and individuals/families served. Staff and volunteers distributed 247,430 pounds of food, at an average cost of $15.57 to provide 9 pounds of food per person per month.
Our food pantry is Lake County’s largest. Three days a week, we serve an average of 90 households each day. Because food prices remained near all-time highs, the U.S Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey at the end of 2023 showed that 10 percent of Hoosiers were experiencing food scarcity. This was evident at STH – we served an average of 767 families each month in 2023 compared to 713 in 2022.
3 WAYS YOU CAN HELP!
DONATE ITEMS
By shopping our Amazon Wish List, you can easily browse, select, and purchase them from Amazon who ships them directly to us. Please make sure to include your name in your purchase so we can thank you!
You can also check out our urgent needs list, shop in local stores, and drop them off at STH. Learn more about donating items.
5 LOAVES & 2 FISH PANTRY DRIVE
Our food drives are more than just an event; they’re a commitment to fostering compassion and solidarity. By holding a food drive, you can help ensure that vulnerable individuals and families have access to the nourishment they need. Whether you’re an individual, a community group, or a local business, there’s a role for everyone in our food drive family.
To ensure that we have food regularly coming through the pantry, we ask that you schedule when you’d like to drop off food. Currently, we are only accepting one food drive delivery per week.
VOLUNTEER
You can volunteer in our pantry in many different ways – tending to our garden, organizing clothes and household items, weighing food, assembling and packaging food, and more. We are always looking for new volunteers, whether you are with a group or it’s just yourself. By lending your time and compassion, you can help us fulfill our mission of providing essential food assistance to those facing adversity.
