Chamber of Young Professionals unveiled the group’s latest project Wednesday afternoon — a Free Little Pantry in Germantown Park.
CYP, an organization closely tied with the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, is made up of professionals under age 40 who network and educate themselves on important issues facing the Greater Owensboro area. An integral part of the group, officials said, is giving back to the community.
“This food pantry may seem small to us, but it can make a big difference for someone else,” said Chamber Membership Development and Marketing Manager Jaclyn Graves.
Graves said the pantry is meant to be a “blessing box,” for the community around Germantown Park. Those in need of food are welcome to take any items from the pantry
CYP member Shaelie Clark headed up the project.
“Hunger is something we shouldn’t have to see in this community,” she said. “This seemed like an easy need to solve.”
Clark said she proposed the project at her first CYP community development committee meeting and walked away spearheading the project.
They chose its location because of the foot traffic Germantown Park sees and the need they felt existed in the neighboring streets.
One issue Clark said committee members worried about was how to keep the pantry stocked. They found their solution after contacting nearby First Christian Church, which already had a walk-in pantry for the community.
While CYP took community partner donations for the pantry structure and members donated the first round of food items to stock it, First Christian Church will be responsible for maintaining the box.
Graves said community donations are always welcome and can simply be placed in the box or dropped off at First Christian.
