The LunchBox

In a semi-haunted basement underneath a school in Beaver, West Virginia is a food pantry, The LunchBox. This food pantry was founded by Angela Lester, who still runs it today. Mrs. Angela is the embodiment of local ministry. As a former single mother of four she knew what it was like to be hungry. She could see it everywhere in her community. The kids at parades who collected candy so they could eat it later. The parents who would ask for just one extra can at drives and events. She saw the need and she decided to do something about it. She had worked in the school building for years, praying and dreaming of starting her own pantry. When Legacy Church moved in with the motto We > me, she knew it was her time to act. Church backed she rented out the basement of the building. To everyone else it was a dark, cold place where no business could operate but to her it was so much more. It was the basement where her parents went to high school, her husband, Patrick, and her went to middle school and where she had worked for years. She loved the basement and knew with the Lord’s help it would be the perfect place for this food pantry. When the question of what to name it came up she thought back to the many days when she would send her kids to school with empty lunchboxes. She would weigh them down with ice and other items until she could get them their food by lunch time. There the LunchBox was born. She started with just one room by the door. The room was so small only seven people could come in at a time. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays she would race to Kroger to get cans and produce to give out to anyone who came by. She noticed that in the winter people would wait in line outside in the rain and snow with no jacket, so she started taking in clothing donations. Fast forward to today, the LunchBox has a lobby, office, produce room, storage room, shelving room, bathroom and two clothing rooms. They are the only choice food pantry in the area, which means people can come in and get their food grocery store style rather than in pre-made boxes. They serve around 50 people a weekend and over 200 families a month. They do this with two full time employees, including Angela and the help of a team of around 7 volunteers. Angela and her husband work full time to care for the pantry putting in long days of picking up, receiving and organizing donations. They asked me to come and them as they repainted and reorganized The LunchBox. During my time here I learned their heart for local ministry. They cared so deeply for their community and stopped at nothing to help as many people as they could. I was so inspired to hear about what they do, serving the people of the community with food and clothing, what their dreams were, to own the building, stimulate local businesses by renting out spaces and offer jobs to local people while also offering a portion of the building to homeless as a safe haven, and their obstacles, not enough hands to help them and a lack of owning the space prevents them for applying for grants. I was so blessed to meet Angela and her family. The LunchBox is an amazing organization run by incredible people. I cannot wait to see what they accomplish and how they will continue to serve their community.