For 55 years, Love Chapel has served as a beacon of hope for families in Bartholomew County, embodying what it means to nourish communities and playing a key role in the fight against hunger as a Gleaners partner pantry.
It began within the walls of a small church providing school physicals for children. As families arrived seeking medical care, the volunteers noticed something: many of them were also struggling with food insecurity. Before long, what started as a small service blossomed to an organization that has become a vital lifeline for the community.
Today, Love Chapel operates a 5,000-square-foot food pantry, a homeless shelter, financial assistance programs, and a mobile outreach effort that works to ensure no family in the county is left behind.
Volunteers, also called shoppers, ensure they select 18 “core items” for neighbors to create well-rounded carts.
Kelly Daugherty is the Executive Director at Love Chapel and said, despite the organization’s hard work, he sees the community struggle with food insecurity more than ever before.
“One of the things we’ve seen is that we have a lot more working folks who are coming to see us. Right now, we see a lot of folks who are working and their dollar just doesn’t stretch. And it’s, do you put money in the gas tank? Or, do you put food on the table?” Daugherty said.
Every day, 20 to 25 volunteers keep the pantry running. From the moment a neighbor arrives, they are welcomed by a greeter at the door, followed by intake specialists who assess their specific needs. Then, a team of shoppers moves through the aisles, carefully selecting items that will best support each household.
“We always have 18, what we call ‘core items’ that we try to make sure that folks get. If we don’t have those, we will purchase those to make sure that those are part of that basket,” Daugherty explained.
Kelly Daugherty is the Executive Director of Love Chapel in Columbus, Indiana. The organization provides access to food, shelter, and financial assistance to thousands of neighbors every week.
While the full pantry visit, available once a month, provides a cart full of groceries, families can return weekly for fresh produce and bread. As food insecurity rises, the support Love Chapel gives to families has become even more critical.
“In 2022, we were serving 750 families every month with a full pantry. Last December, we had 1,698 families,” Daugherty said.
This spike in need is unfortunately, not unique to Love Chapel. It’s being felt across Gleaners’ entire 21-county service area.
But partners like Walmart and Sam’s Club have been among our most dedicated partners in providing hunger relief.
In addition to the ongoing Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign now underway across the country, Walmart and Sam’s Club have long been leaders in leveraging a unique program available through Gleaners called Direct Agency Pickup. It allows Gleaners’ partner pantries to pick up fresh produce, right from the stores, and begin the distribution process.
In 2024 alone, Walmart generously donated 1,591,368 pounds of food to Gleaners’ neighbors through the DAP program. Sam’s Club contributed 1,092,641 pounds of food that same year.
“This helps us to fight any good food going to landfills,” said Emma Mitchell, Food Strategy Manager at Gleaners. “It also helps create great communities, strengthening local relationships, and we really benefit from partners like Walmart and Sam’s Club.”
Neighbors wait for volunteers to deliver and process food deliveries at Love Chapel.
DAP is a vital component to how organizations like Love Chapel are able to receive bounties of fresh food to distribute. The impressive amount of donated food provided means theses organization can grow and focus on giving back to their communities.
Longtime volunteer Connie West has worked as a Love Chapel shopper for years, selecting a variety of food for neighbors in the community. From large families to individuals seeking some assistance, she sees firsthand how grateful they are for the variety.
“Most of the people that we give the food to are very grateful. They thank us for the food, every now and then there’s a ‘God bless’ in there,” West said.
Volunteer Connie West dedicates several hours every Friday to serving others at Love Chapel.
Over the years, Connie and other Love Chapel volunteers say they’ve become a family of sorts: forming strong bonds, working side-by-side in the pantry, sharing meals together after shifts, and attending church services.
With businesses like Walmart and Sam’s Club supporting Love Chapel, the organization continues to grow, and the people dedicating their time to serving the community can focus on meeting evolving needs.
“The way you show love is through food, which is what we do. It’s a great way to show love to others,” Dougherty said.
Since 2014, the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign has generated more than $206 million and helped secure more than 2 billion meals for the Feeding America network. The Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign will run online and in stores from March 1 through March 31. Click here to donate and learn more.
