Union County has a new morning food pantry location thanks to the
kind staff & volunteers at Nicey Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Marshville. The
church at 318 Camden Road hosted its first pantry this month and provided groceries to
103 families.

Church member and Common Heart Getting Ahead graduate Ruth Lotharp has been the
driving force behind this new location. The church hosted a one-time, pop-up pantry in
December and immediately wanted to know how they could get more involved, said
Ryan Kolbe, Common Heart Pantry Network Director.

“Ruth has been such an enthusiastic supporter of Common Heart and the desire to feed
our neighbors,” Kolbe said. “The folks at Nicey Grove set a great example of how
people can come together to fight food insecurity in their community. If we’re going to
make food insecurity a thing of the past, that’s the way to do it.”

Church volunteers are “so excited” to be able to provide much-needed groceries on a
more consistent basis to their Marshville area neighbors, Lotharp said. Common Heart’s
morning food pantries happen once/month and rotate between several church locations:
Nicey Grove, Mineral Springs UMC in Mineral Springs and Liberty Hill Missionary
Baptist in Waxhaw. The next morning pantry will be Tuesday, June 11 at Mineral
Springs UMC (5915 Old Waxhaw-Monroe Road) from 9:30-11 a.m. The next morning
pantry at Nicey Grove will be Tuesday, Sept 10 from 9:30-11 a.m. Full schedule
available online at Pantries.CommonHeart.org.

“We were never meant to do life alone,” Lotharp said. “We need the love and care of
others, as much as we are needed by others in the same way. The neighbors are all so
happy and grateful for having a pantry within their local community. It was amazing
having the opportunity to meet our neighbors and offer love, prayer and support.”

If you have any questions about the new morning food pantry or any of the available
pantry services and volunteer opportunities, visit CommonHeart.org, or call
704-218-9060. Morning pantries are typically the first Tuesday of every month. Find a
full schedule at Pantries.CommonHeart.org.

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