How churches, businesses banded together to feed a community

BAINBRIDGE - In just four months, J216 Ministry has gotten established, outgrown an 800-square foot building and reached over 1,000 people.

All of those accomplishments are largely attributed to local businesses, church ministries, and community members coming together to feed the hungry in Ross County.

"It's overwhelming. It almost leaves you speechless to know how quickly it's grown, but also the fact that there's a necessity for it because of the need, that there is that much need in every county," said Chas Cottrill, pastor of Bainbridge CCCU, the church that runs J216.

The ministry, a food pantry that delivers, originally had planned to focus on Ross County and Chillicothe, but it's quickly branched out to cover five counties and 13 cities. Unlike most food pantries, the biggest thing about J216 is the fact they deliver food.

More: J216 Ministry seeks to unite county in caring for those left behind in the opioid epidemic

Around 7 a.m. on Saturdays, people from more than half a dozen ministries across multiple counties gather at their new building on U.S. 50 to load food into vehicles, where they'll make their way to the front doors of people in need, carrying boxes filled with not only non-perishable items, but fresh produce.

Eventually, Cottrill had wanted to provide families with more than just food, but some other necessities and the ministry has started being able to do that. On a need-by-need basis, they've begun delivering items like clothing, cleaning supplies, hygiene supplies, diapers, and more.

"We want to get to where we're doing way more than food," Cottrill said. "We want to supply any need that we see that we can."

Business sponsors and volunteers from other ministries have played a huge role in helping J216 expand to other areas.

"The ministries and the churches that we've had so far, just the fact that they're willing to give up their time and come out and deliver ... because that's the hardest part, but it's the most crucial part is the delivery portion of it," Cottrill said, adding that it takes a special person to deliver because they don't want to give the food and run away. "We want them first to not feel like they're below us. We want them to know that they might be on hard times, but they're just as equal as anybody else. So as we're giving it, we want to be able to build the rapport with them so if they have another need in the family, we find out and we can address it."

For the churches that have gotten involved, it's more than just helping. In a sense, J216 Ministry has become their own, something Cottrill said he'd hoped for. 

Jan Conley, the pastor's wife at Vanguard Ministries, first heard about J216 through Facebook and because they'd been looking to do something for their area, they decided to check it out.

"We found them. We went there. I know that's not an accident," Conley said. "It's a God thing. We saw their hearts were to help people."

They got involved about six weeks ago and are now delivering about 60 boxes per week in the Pike County area.

For Gretchen Clare, director of A.R.K. Ministries, seeing the concept of J216 on Facebook got her excited because she knows the need on the streets all too well. When A.R.K. first started helping, they delivered about 25-35 boxes per week.

"I think the pantry is wonderful. We've needed this in Ross County for a very long time," Clare said. "I just feel that the need is going to get a lot bigger with all prices going up for gas and food. It's just a wonderful ministry."

To both Clare and Conley, it's important for the church to get involved in the ministry - regardless of denomination.

"I think it's very important and I think the churches that have a denomination need to quit worry about their roles and need to come out and do what we're supposed to do as churches," Clare said. "It's not about man-made rules. We all need to get involved and if more churches, community people would get involved, this community would turn around and be like it used to be."

Conley said she wouldn't be surprised to see more and more churches getting involved in the ministry.

"The only thing I really think people should know, I think somewhere along the road the church has gotten a bad name. I think we just need to love people," she said, adding she feels the last place anyone should be hurt is in the church. "I think God is starting to bring that back together, that people will see the church is what he called it to be ... My hope is that these people we are helping will see ... we're striving to do what God's called us to do."

Pastor Randy Barker, of Jeffersonville and Jamestown CCCU, said these ministries and churches are doing exactly what they should be by getting involved.

"I think that what they should be doing is getting out in the community and meeting the needs of the people," he said. "That's what Jesus told us to do is feed the orphans and feed the hungry and clothe the needy. That's our job."

Cottrill, who chairs the faith-based committee for the Heroin Partnership Project, has seen involvement trickle through from county organizations, such as Community Action, the health department, and CareSource. Through those organizations, J216 has gotten referrals in the form of lists.

Seeing a growth in volunteers and ministries getting involved has helped the J216 Ministry volunteers tremendously, as the job they're trying to tackle is much too big for a handful of volunteers. 

"People are willing to help. There are some people with really good hearts and they want to see the community improve," Cottrill said. "We're hoping to give people hope."

Cottrill admitted he's often been told to slow down, that he doesn't want do to too much too fast.

But for him and his volunteers, their work never feels like enough.

“Knowing the need that’s out there, not just in this community and this county, but the adjoining counties even, the more people you get involved, the more reach you have," Cottrill said. "So it’s wonderful, yeah in a short amount of time, we’re in a bigger building. We’re reaching a thousand people a week, but what if we had more people? What if we had more people from other counties? How long before we got to 2,000 people? And when do you ever get to a point that you say ‘that’s enough people. We don’t want to help anybody else.’?"

He wondered aloud how many more people, businesses, sponsors, community members it would take to double the number J216 could reach.

"To me, that would be amazing. It would be amazing to see people out in their own communities delivering food and caring about people," Cottrill said. "'Cause when we go up, that's what we want to do. It's not just the food. We want them to know there is somebody out there, even if they have no hope and they're in despair, there's somebody out there that does care, and will help you, and then talk with you."

How to help

While many local organizations have gotten on board, they're still awaiting getting set up with Mid-Ohio Food Bank, which would allow them to purchase food at a discounted rate, meaning the ministry is still purchasing food at local grocery stores like anyone else.

• Make a donation through J216 Ministry's GoFundMe account
• A donated match program has been set up through Rockhold Bank in Bainbridge. Tell them you'd like to make a donation to J216 Ministry.
• Mail checks to Bainbridge CCCU at 216 S. Quarry St. in Bainbridge.

The ministry is still actively looking for sponsors, churches, ministries, and community members to get involved. For more information, call J216 Ministry at 740-649-3403, email them at team@J216.org, or find them on Facebook.