Princeton food pantry in need of volunteers as community need rises

PRINCETON, WV (WOAY) – Tender Mercies Ministries is a food pantry that has been serving the area for the past 36 years. They say they’re in desperate need of volunteers. 

Tender Mercies Ministries serves thousands of people each month and is in continuous need of donations. Right now they accept nonperishable goods and some hygiene products.

According to the pantry’s executive director Glenn Mitchell, they mostly need monetary donations so they can purchase more food in bulk.

“We like the monetary donations because we can buy food cheaper than what the average person out on the street can buy. Even though we’ve got food now, it won’t last long. It goes out in a hurry,” Mitchell said.

Tender Mercies Ministries is serving dozens of families each day. On the high end they can see as many as 80.

According to warehouse manager Kandice Henley, what they’re looking for the most is volunteers. 

“We’re just putting the word out that we need help. They come in, we talk to them and see what they can work. Usually two hour shifts is all we ask for,” Henley said.

Typically volunteers assist the staff in unloading shipments and boxing up goods for the community. They tend to receive a shipment each week and are constantly getting other large donations from the community, so they need as many volunteers as they can get. 

“People are in need right now, this is a critical time for everybody. There’s a lot of work to do.”

Tender Mercies Ministries feeds anywhere between 650-750 families each month, which comes out to around 2,400 people on average.

If you’d like to volunteer your time, you can contact them about volunteering between the hours of 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. in the morning and 1:15 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. in the afternoon.

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