TORRINGTON – The Land of Goshen Ministries (LOGM) is in the process of centralizing its warehouse to better serve Goshen County, but still needs volunteers and help from community members.
“Our board believes there’s a lot of synergism if we have one or two central agencies supported by the whole county versus a half dozen or more,” LOGM Board President David Kendall said.
Last Friday evening, Kendall and some other LOGM members presented a detailed recap and plan of the move from multiple smaller locations from around the county to the centralized location that will serve the entire county.
“In October, it will be our 30 years as a ministry, which has been a business since 2005, anniversary and we felt now is the time to reevaluate how we serve our communities,” Kendall explained. Adding, “Sometime in the fall we will have some celebrations, in some form, around our anniversary – but we don’t have set-in-stone, detailed plans yet.”
For the first time, in 2005, LOGM was one of four finalists for the coveted Jefferson Award due to the impact the nonprofit had and continues to have in the community.
The Jefferson Award, recognizes individuals, organizations and nonprofits who volunteer and give back to their communities. Founders, Lester and Florence Snow, were recognized for the work LOGM was doing to ensure community members were not hungry, were clothed and had basic living necessities.
The ministry was founded in 1992, “for the purpose of helping families in Goshen County meet their basic needs of clothing and food,” Kendall added.
The nonprofit started with a single card table and several individuals seeking to meet the needs of the community. Both Lester and Florence have since passed, but Kendall said, “we, the board members and volunteers, continue to seek ways that would honor the legacy they left and to keep providing in ways that are meaningful to our community.” He said the Snow’s would be thrilled to see how much the ministry has grown in recent years.
“Not only do we provide food and commodities boxes, but our thrift store is based solely on donated items and are priced to ensure anyone in the county can afford what it is they need – whether that is a winter coat or socks,” Kendall explained. “Proceeds from the thrift store and 100% of all our monetary donations are used to purchase food for our pantry in addition to the food drives we host throughout the year.
“Something we did in recent years to make things easier for our families – which the board also believes will help streamline services at a centralized location – is that the food at our pantry is also distributed at the same time as the government provided commodities boxes,” Kendall added.
As of right now, LOGM is the only distributor in Goshen County for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services Commodity program – it is distributed once a month for families meeting predetermined government guidelines based on income. This program is part of several former presidential food scarcity programs and was last funded under the Biden Administration in the American Rescue Plan Act with $37 million dollars.
According to the USDA’s website, this program is open not only to low income families at or below the poverty line, but also some middle-class families who need help from time-to-time. Emergency needs are also considered.
As for the LOGM food pantry, they consider a wide-variety of needs, so it’s best to call, 307-532-3884 or email logministry.wyo@gmail.com or stop in at 801 West Valley Road, Torrington.
For more visit www.fns.usda.gov.
The new centralized location is in Torrington and Kendall said the nonprofit is about halfway done with relocating to the centralized location, but needs additional volunteers and there is a need for a larger warehouse.
“We’re just about max capacity now at our current facility,” Kendall said, “so we’re hoping to raise enough money to get a larger facility so that we can have not only space for our items, but also parking space to accommodate our communities.”
As of right now, LOGM is governed by a board of directors, but has one paid employee – the rest are strictly volunteers and participants from court ordered community service. The ministry also has two additional paid employees funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We always need more volunteers – especially as our county and communities continue to grow,” Kendall explained. “Right now, we have about 12 long-term, constant volunteers, but we could easily use the help of about double that.”
Residents seeking to donate items or money are encouraged to call the ministry.
“If interested in volunteering, residents need to call or stop into the ministry facility on Valley Road and talk to Judy or Ed,” Kendall added.
LOGM Thrift Store hours are Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Food pantry hours on the third Thursday and Friday’s every month are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
When asked what message he wanted to get to Goshen County residents, Kendall said, “We need the help and support of all of Goshen County – to help those less fortunate than we are – especially these difficult financial times. There are those among us who need our help.”
