Fraser
September 22, 2010
Ray of HOPE
By Heidi Roman
C & G Staff Writer
Client-choice pantry, service hub opens on Groesbeck
FRASER — These days, not everyone can afford a weekly trip to the grocery store, where the sea of brand labels gives shoppers an array of options.
Choices are usually far more limited on the shelves of a food pantry, but the new HOPE Center in Fraser is giving back the luxury of choice to people who’ve run out of options in their lives.
The HOPE Center, opening in early June, is a client-choice food pantry without a minimum income requirement. The pantry and service facility just moved into the empty Hanson’s Window building on Groesbeck, just north of 14 Mile.
In just three weeks, volunteers slathered a fresh coat of paint on the walls and set up the pantry to look like a typically grocery store. The shelving units donated from Meijer still bear the store’s old labels advertising rolls of paper towel for $1.09, but they’re about to be lined with perishable food donated from the corporation and non-perishable food purchased at a low rate from Gleaners Community Food Bank.
Here, the groceries are free to those who need them.
“Hunger is still the No. 1 need in Macomb County,” said Chet Decker, executive director of the HOPE Center. “That’s based on calls to United Way’s 211 (help hotline).”
Today’s poverty has a definition beyond what’s established by law, and those in need are people who’ve never needed help before. White-collar workers who once earned a decent salary might be facing new challenges in this economy, and might not be able to afford to feed their families.
There’s no minimum income requirement at the HOPE Center, though they’ll still ask about it for their own records. Clients will also be asked to prove their Macomb County residency and the residency of everyone else living in the house. They’ll also want to know the client’s age and race.
“That’s important because people who donate want to know we’re not discriminating,” Decker said.
The pantry will be open by appointments only. People can go up to six times each year.
The only problem with the model of service the pantry has set up is that it could be abused by people who aren’t really in need, since no one is asked to prove it. If it becomes an issue, Decker will set up safety guards, but he’s not letting the possibility dampen his spirits.
“I was told early on that when you open a client-choice pantry, there will be people who abuse us,” he said. “But we’re not here for them; we’re here for the 99 percent who need us.”
Decker says a client-choice pantry is more effective than a traditional pantry because people select the food they know their family likes, rather than taking home a box of food they may or may not eat. Some of that gets thrown away.
“We’re trying to keep the dignity and integrity of these people intact,” said Renee Rosalino, community relations director for the center. “It can be an embarrassing thing.”
The food pantry is only half the battle. Decker plans to make the facility a one-stop shop where anyone in need can access the different services and agencies offered in Macomb County. A dozen or so cubicles will be set up in the office that can be used by other agencies.
“If someone comes into the pantry and says they’re about to lose their home or their son is addicted to drugs, we can walk across the hall and get them help,” Decker said.
The Macomb Homeless Coalition will have office space there, and several other agencies have already signed on to be a part of it. HOPE Center employees can direct residents to whatever resource they need.
“We’re helping people access services,” Decker said. “Especially for the newly homeless, they may not know where to go.”
The HOPE Center is operated by the nonprofit group WW Community Connections, which was started by Warren Woods Church of the Nazarene. The church and its members have donated a large sum of money to help get the facility up and running, and donations and grants from Gleaners and other entities have also helped. The center will be run mostly by volunteers with a small paid staff.
The HOPE Center is located at 33222 Groesbeck in Fraser. Clients will be taken and served by appointment only, so residents should call (586) 294-HOPE, or (586) 294-4673, before coming.
An open house for the public is planned for June 27 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Before that, the center is welcoming local officials and the business community to a June 18 grand opening at 11 a.m.