By BRANDON LaCHANCE

Staff writer

MENDOTA – Every year Shell gas stations run a fundraiser to help local non-profit organizations.

The Johnson Oil Shell station in Mendota selected the First Presbyterian Church Micro Pantry for the fourth year to receive The Giving Pump donation.

In August and September, pumps No. 5 and No. 6 took 1 cent from every gallon of gas and set it aside for the micro panty.

Shell customers earned $394.71 for the cause.

Prescott Brothers matched.

Shell manager Kate Walter matched.

There was a $6 donation and a $1,000 donation from generous anonymous residents.

The final total given to Jessica Cox of the First Presbyterian Church by Walter was $2,109.13.

“It’s all to benefit the micro food pantry at the First Presbyterian Church. We’ve been doing the food pantry donation for four years and the toy drive for the last nine years,” Walter said. “I used to donate at other places, but I feel more comfortable with the micro food pantry and the church. It’s all for a good cause.”

The micro pantry has been on the porch at the church located at 1003 Fifth St. for the last five years.

What once began as a let’s see how this works type of idea has become a full-fledged operation to help the community.

“The micro pantry is open 24 hours a day for people to come get what they need at any time,” said Cox. “It’s filled four or five times a day. We have community members who stop by and drop off items. People say you can get peanut butter, jelly, and macaroni and cheese anywhere, but we can’t ever keep them in the pantry because they’re staples people need and want.

“Kate heard about us when we first started our micro pantry. We realized how big the need was in Mendota. At first, we thought we could put a few things out there and it would last a month or two. No, we couldn’t believe how quick the pantry was emptying and how many people were coming to the pantry to get food.”

The donation from Johnson Oil (Shell), Prescott Brothers, Walter, and the generous citizens will be used to stock the pantry for its regular consumption and to assist the church’s yearly Christmas distribution where it tries to prepare holiday meals for 50 families.

Food, toilet paper, soap, baby formula, diapers, paper towels, and other items are paid for by donations, dropped off by members of the community and members of the church, picked up in Joliet through the Hands of Hope program twice a month, or by other drives such as Kurt Bruno State Farm Insurance asking families to bring food items during Photos with Santa.

First Presbyterian Church members restock the micro pantry many times a day and make sure all items are within their expiration date or not too far removed from it where the item is still edible or useable.

The church didn’t know how big of a need the micro pantry was until the community began leaving notes and letters in the mail slot.

“We had one note from a first-time mom. She put it in the mail slot around 3 a.m. She ran out of diapers and formula, and nothing is open in Mendota at 3 a.m.,” Cox said. “She had her first kid and didn’t realize how quick babies go through diapers and formula. She only had the things the hospital had given her, and she thought they’d last a long time. By the grace of God, when she came here, we had a full pack of newborn diapers and six ready-made formulas to get her through the night.

“She left a note saying thank you and that’s when we knew that we really needed to do this for our community.”