Ballinger Cares finds new home for community pantry
BALLINGER — An idea that began more than 25 years ago lives on through Ballinger Cares, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting those in need with food, clothing and household items.
Ballinger Cares has a new home at the old National Guard armory at 402 Crosson Avenue — appropriately named the Hugh Wade Center.
Better known as Father Wade, it was the longtime Ballinger pastor's idea to start a food pantry after he arrived at St. Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic Church in 1996.
The program was operated by the Ballinger Ministerial Alliance, and the pantry was staffed by volunteers of all faiths.
"We didn't have a way to get people food that needed it, and so it was because of him that it got started," said Peggy Freeman, one of the volunteers who worked at the community pantry until it closed in September 2020 after 22 years when the owner decided to sell the building.
Wade died the following month at the age of 74.
"A group of us got together and decided (the pantry) was too important to the community," Freeman said. "Those of us who worked there knew how many people came in for clothing and food."
After the pantry closed, the Ballinger Ministerial Alliance continued to distribute food from the Senior Citizen Center with the monthly shipments they received from the Food Bank of West Central Texas in Abilene.
In May 2021, Ballinger Cares opened a resale center in an 800-square foot space owned by Runnels County to begin offering clothing again.
A grant from the San Angelo Health Foundation recently allowed Ballinger Cares to purchase the armory, giving them the room they needed to bring everything back together.
"All the shirts in there cost $1, and children's items are 50 cents. A few really nice things are marked up like formal wear, things like that. But they're good prices. And when someone needs something, they don't have to pay anything," Freeman said.
"The food is free to those who qualify, but anyone who has emergency needs will be helped out when they need it."
Ballinger Cares also has furniture, various household items and even a bridal room with new dresses as well as women's evening wear.
The armory gave Ballinger Cares so much room they were able to welcome other community-based organizations into the building such as Meals on Wheels, Cornerstone Community Action Agency, and the Health and Wellness Coalition of Runnels County.
Freeman said Ballinger Cares is in need of more volunteers since its recent expansion. For more information on volunteering or donating, call the Hugh Wade Center at 325-365-4300 or board chairman Carla Campbell at 325-365-6049.
Ballinger Cares is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (Tuesday's hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Ballinger Cares finds new home for community pantry
