Sponsored by Community First Bank of Indiana
Food insecurity affects everyone, and Open Doors of Westfield has a mission to provide resources to families in need, especially as we head into the summer months. Open Doors is a nonprofit clothes and food pantry that helps clients residing in the Washington Township of Westfield by providing food and clothing. It is entirely run by volunteers.
Food pantries like Open Doors usually receive most donations during the fall and winter holidays. Still, for the summer, they need to restock food to support families with children who rely on breakfast and lunch programs during the school year.
Ann Godby is a volunteer coordinator at Open Doors and has been volunteering her time since it started 35 years ago. She explained the importance of the food pantry during the summer. Open Doors provides food bags for weekend meals to 175 school kids from food-insecure families in the community.
“We do extra kids’ bags filled with lunch items, cereal and milk. It just depends on what we have, but we try to keep those pretty full,” Godby said.
Open Doors also relies on community partners and businesses to donate food, and it organizes events like food drives to engage the community. In May, volunteers folded 90,000 Meijer bags that were delivered by mail and then picked up by postal workers.
“Last year, we received over 36,000 pounds of food,” Godby explained.
Founded by Joe and Alice Trentman in 1990 with the help of eight community churches, it now has 15 member churches, community support from local organizations, and donations and match programs from local grocery stores like Kroger and Meijer.
Families who qualify for assistance fill out a monthly shopping list that provides them with 1-2 weeks of food staples. Families get four additional opportunities each month to shop in the lobby area, which has fresh produce, deli items, and a variety of other packaged food. A clothing pantry is also open during any visit.
They have different programs throughout the year to keep families supported. Currently, they are prepping for a back-to-school event, providing participating families with school supplies, backpacks, school T-shirts for spirit days, socks and underwear. Open Doors will host the backpack giveaway on Aug. 2.
With over 130 volunteers, Godby is proud of Open Doors’ impact on the community.
“There’s always challenges, but I know that we are helping people,” Godby says. “All of our volunteers that come in are so great and everybody works well together. The community is very supportive.”
In 2015, the school corporation donated a 5,000-square-foot building next to Monon Trail Elementary School. The space includes a lobby, meeting rooms, a food pantry and a warehouse.
How to Get Involved
Open Doors is always looking for enthusiastic volunteers year-round. A list of current volunteer openings can be found online at opendoorswestfield.org/programs/pantry-positions-descriptions.
Looking for a way to help by donating? Non-perishable food items are always welcome, and Open Doors keeps an updated list of current and timely supply needs on its website. If you’re looking for an item that is always needed, Godby emphasizes the ongoing need for toilet paper or paper towels since those aren’t common items that get donated but are needed by food pantries.
Washington Township residents can find the application form and more information about the requirements at opendoorswestfield.org/our-clients.
Once approved, they can begin receiving assistance free of charge.
Open Doors is located at 19360 Tomlinson Rd. and is now open Monday, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. To volunteer at the pantry or donate, visit opendoorswestfield.org or call 317-867-8670.
