The Corinthian Cupboard food pantry is based out of Mantua United Methodist Church and has been serving the needy for 30 years.
A church food pantry is Mantua has been serving the needy in Gloucester County for more than 30 years.
Based out of the United Methodist Church, the Corinthian Cupboard food pantry serves nearly 100 families, according to the church’s outreach ministry and the pantry’s chairman, Todd Hickman.
Corinthian Cupboard provides canned food and goods, eggs, frozen meats and fish, shelf-stable foods, household products, diapers, wipes and personal hygiene products. Donations are made through connections with the Southern Regional Food Distribution, the Rural Development Corporation, Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey (PCANJ) and members of the church’s congregation.
“You think maybe Paulsboro and Camden, you see this kind of thing in Cumberland County and Salem County, you hear about poverty,” said Hickman. “But it’s here. You just don’t see it. People don’t publicize around here because this is Gloucester County. But it’s here.”
To better serve the needy, Corinthian Cupboard works with other nearby food pantries – including one at the Pitman United Methodist Church – by balancing each pantry’s workload and directing recipients to a donation center closest to where they live.
“You’re always welcome to come,” Hickman noted, “and if you don’t have a local pantry, you’re obviously welcome to come back.”
Appointments with the Corinthian Cupboard can be made by calling (856) 468-2711. Recipients may come in once a month and take whatever items they need, as long as the facility has a surplus of them.
“I always ask them at the end, ‘Is there anything else more that you want?'” explained assistant outreach ministry chair Jody Miller. “They didn’t think that as they took (items), but now … a lot of times they’ll go back and pick more from that food that they realize.
“A lot of them will ask, ‘How many can I have?'”
“Our pantry here is one of the few in the South Jersey district where you can come in and take what you want,” Hickman said. “Other pantries you’ll drive up, they’ll put four bags in your car and then you leave. The problem with that is you go home and take these things out of the bag and go, ‘Ew, I don’t even like that’ or ‘I’m allergic to that, I can’t eat that.’ They either throw it away or it ends up in our boxes.”
There are also what the pantry calls “blessing boxes” outside of the church where individuals can take items without an appointment. One of them was created by a local Boy Scout Glenn McKellar Jr., who created it as part of his Eagle project in 2022. Individuals can also drop off donations to the boxes, which are split between food and cleaning supplies.
“I filled it up yesterday (Jan. 29) at 11 and it’s decimated already,” Miller observed of a donor box. “I came last night at 6:30 and … it was stocked, and we have a second box that we’re putting toilet paper, hats, gloves and socks in and that’s all gone.”
The cupboard is a group effort, according to Hickman, that dates back to his predecessor, Lorraine Beckett, who passed away a few years ago. It was her service that inspired Hickman to continue his work at the pantry a decade ago.
“Jody Miller, my right-hand person, has been tireless in her dedication, ensuring our cupboard runs smoothly,” he related. “John Fuchs, one of our trustees, has been essential in providing construction and maintenance support. Of course, I must include my wife Deborah, not only for the daily support I receive as her husband, but for her knowledge and experience.
“Lastly, I cannot emphasize enough the important of Pastor Doug Baitinger’s guidance throughout this journey,” Hickman said. “He’s invaluable to me and to this church and has become a great friend.”
