Grace Presbyterian opens Table of Grace food pantry
Jan Norman stood quietly watching Thursday as Grace Presbyterian Church dedicated the new Table of Grace food ministry building. Norman's father, John Norman, operated Norman's Chevron Service Center at the lot now occupied by Tables of Grace.
"Daddy's wish came true that it got to the church. ... He would have been just amazed. To me, the structure, the bay doors, a lot of memories flooded my mind when I came in. This would have been so like what daddy would have wanted it," Norman said, smiling at the fond memories the opening generated.
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The Table of Grace building will be open three days a week across from Grace Presbyterian Church at the corner of Hargrove Road and Prince Avenue in Tuscaloosa. In the past, the ministry operated one day each month. John Norman's gas station was there from 1977 until 2003, when he retired. Grace Presbyterian, which is a union of two former congregations in 2017, University Presbyterian and Covenant Presbyterian, have been involved in feeding the hungry for more than two decades. .
Madeleine Hill, chair of finance, said the budget for the new structure is $1.8 million and she believes they will come in under budget when all the costs are tabulated. The new building has a small warehouse area with a walk-in freezer and a shopping area that is similar to what one would experience in a grocery store.
Table of Grace operates as a client-choice market-style food pantry, the only one of its kind in West Alabama. A traditional food pantry assembles food packages and gives the same food to each client.
"We are a church, first and foremost. We are not an NGO (non-governmental organization) or a nonprofit, so everyone here are volunteers," said Mike Altman, communications team member at Grace Presbyterian. "This is here because so many people have steeped up and put their energy into it."
The food ministry is part of the church's mission, peace and justice ministry. The outreach began as a shelf of food at University Presbyterian, evolved into the Loaves and Fishes ministry, and emerged as Table of Grace after the merger of the two churches.
"Since 1996, this ministry has been an agency of the West Alabama Food Bank," Altman said. "This building is the capstone to that merger (of University and Covenant Presbyterian churches). This was a project done by Grace and we are really proud of that."
Ann Weeden, a member of the Table of Grace Committee, explained the functioning of a client-choice food pantry.
"Operating a choice-market pantry provides our neighbors with a more dignified experience, while reducing food waste. When people are choosing the food they want, they aren't being given things they can't eat and just have to get rid of," Weeden said.
Shoppers who qualify are assigned a point total and each item they procure has a point value. For a single person, the total is 15 points and it goes up based upon family size. The food choices include staple items such as canned foods, rice, and beans but the new facility with its refrigeration ability will open up more choices that will include meats and perishable items.
Emily Altman, the chair of the Grace Presbyterian mission, peace and justice committee, said that Table of Grace is a major component of the church's work.
"We are a church that feeds people. We believe that God wants everyone in our community to have everything they need to thrive. This market is the next step in that commitment to build God's kingdom and making our world a more peaceful and a just one," Emily Altman said.
The pantry is now serving between 250 and 300 households every month, representing between 600 and 800 people. In 2022, the pantry gave away 85,000 pounds of food. Anyone who qualifies for a government food program such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), or (Supplemental Security Income) SSI automatically is qualified and others who meet specific income levels may also be eligible.
Gary Cosby Jr. is the photo editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Readers can email him at gary.cosby@tuscaloosanews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Table of Grace's client-choice pantry opens in Tuscaloosa
