By Sarah Wood | Guest Writer
Hundreds of Lynchburg residents are receiving food and essential supplies through the Fillin Station, a food pantry operated by Timberlake Church.
The church’s on-site pantry provides food distribution twice a week to residents of Lynchburg and Campbell and Bedford counties.
Kristen Moore, director of feeding ministries at Timberlake Church, said the program is designed to meet both practical and spiritual needs in the community.
“The Fillin Station is our on-campus food pantry that has two distributions a week to the communities in this area,” Moore said. “Our mission here at the church is to reach and feed people.”
The pantry serves a wide variety of individuals, including families, young adults, and college students who may be struggling.
“We feed a wide variety and array of different people,” Moore said. “ It could be your next-door neighbor, someone from a lower-income community downtown, or somebody in a food dead zone in a rural part of the county”
In addition to groceries, the Fillin Station occasionally distributes toiletries, diapers, and pet food upon request or when available. Volunteers occasionally also provide hot meals during distribution.
Elizabeth Horine, a graduate student at William and Mary College and the administrative assistant at timberlake church, volunteers regularly at the pantry and helps check guests into the program.
“Yes, we help many different people in need financially, like young couples, college students who don’t make a lot, people who just need help,” Horine said.
Students from local colleges in the Lynchburg area also volunteer at the Fillin station to help with weekly food distributions.
Moore said student involvement has continued to grow.
“Lately, we’ve been getting an average of one student a week volunteering,” Moore said
Horine said volunteering can also help students connect with others in the community while serving people in need.
Horine now helps registrar visitors using Link2Feed, a statewide system used by food pantries across Virginia to track food assistance. The system allows volunteers to verify information and ensure that participants qualify to receive any required resources.
“The amount of people that we serve is always growing; we get about 180 every Monday,” Horine said. “And they’re always so grateful. It just makes you feel great doing it.”
The pantry depends heavily on volunteers to operate successfully.
“In a week’s time, we require about 60 volunteer positions,” Moore said. “They are essential to keeping the program running.”
Community members and students in need of the food pantries assistance or who are interested in volunteering or donating food can visit https://timberlakechurch.org/missions for more information.
