Lynette Wellington (right), Director of theĀ Minnie’s Food Pantry in Plano, stopped by the Community Food Bank along with a couple of their employees to tour our facility, chat about serving the needy in north Texas, and to pick up a few palettes of food boxes for clients in their area. “It’s an honor to be here today at the Community Food Bank. I serve in Collin County, and it is really amazing to see the work that you all are doing here in Tarrant County, and I can’t wait to come back on a day to see how you serve the community.” (They stopped by on a Friday when we do our work behind the scenes. Our normal food distribution times are Monday – Thursday from 9 AM to 1 PM.)
Minnie’s Pantry was founded 10 years ago by Lynette’s sister, Dr. Cheryl Jackson, to honor their mother, Minnie Hawthorn-Ewing, who passed away in 2015. Lynette shared: “We had a pantry in our church, growing up. We were pastor’s kids, and we were doing [the pantry] in honor of our grandmother. And when we would do an event, my mother would always say, ‘I wish your grandmother was alive to see this.’ Our dad passed in 2004, and my sister said, ‘I don’t want to wake up someday and wish that mom were alive to see something,’ so it took her four years to convince mom to let her go [ahead with the pantry].”
Ms. Wellington also described the red carpet treatment their clients have come to expect when visiting their location. “When our people come inside, they have a red carpet they get to walk, there are photographers there, so it’s like a celebrity event. Music plays all the way through the pantry. We dance. We sing. And we have about 7,500 volunteers to make sure that our people are well taken care of.”
We are thankful to partnerships with other like-minded nonprofit organizations like Minnie’s Food Pantry.
Below is a location map for Minnie’s Food Pantry in Plano