One Church Street is a central part of the Johnstown community, providing a variety of services to the public, including the NOAH (Needy or Lonely and Hungry) program, the Food is Medicine nutrition program, faith-based programs, and a large public food pantry to assist those in need.
Earlier this year, the food pantry served free meals to 642 people from 242 households in the community, the most meals it has ever provided. With the need to feed so many residents, One Church Street has made investment plans to renovate the former YMCA building to expand the food pantry’s reach.
“When we saw the YMCA building was for sale, we thought it would be a perfect fit for our needs. We purchased the building with a great vision for making these programs available to everyone,” said the Rev. Laurie Garramone, pastor of St. John Church and director of One Church Street. “We’re really revitalizing this part of downtown that has had its ups and downs. We’re revitalizing this building that could have been abandoned and providing a resource for the community.”
After purchasing the building across from the center at One Church Street, the center raised more than $2.3 million through community grants and donations to renovate the building and relocate to the new space.
Fundraising for the project has been difficult at times for One Church Street.
“It’s taken longer than we expected to raise funds, especially with COVID-19, but we’ll finally be able to open the first floor in about two weeks and set up a food pantry and church offices,” Garramone said. “The second floor will be home to our NOAH program, which provides Sunday meals, a kitchen and a community gym. We’ve already raised $2.3 million, but we still need about $1.3 million for the second floor.”
The expansion into the new building is part of One Church Street’s mission statement of “nourishing the mind, body and soul of our neighbors.”
One Church Street not only provides free meals, groceries and nutritional information to local residents, but also works with other local agencies to provide a variety of services for those in need.
“We work with people who work with legal aid and senior resources and are always trying to provide services that meet the needs of our clients,” said Mary Gilmore, director of the food pantry. “Because social services is on the other side of Johnstown, some people have a hard time accessing this information. With this expansion and new meeting room, we hope to be able to expand our services and provide more help to those in need. I want to be part of the solution.”
One Church Street hopes that with their new expansion and funding, other communities will become more aware of the prevalence of hunger at all systemic levels and the impacts that cause this hunger.
“In Fulton County alone, one in four households report experiencing food insecurity. Those numbers are shocking, and hunger isn’t the only issue people face,” Garramone says. “They probably have problems with employment or transportation, but the thing is, without food you can’t begin to solve those problems. Nutrition is a ‘whole person’ job…We don’t just give people food when they need it, we actually get to know them and treat them with respect.”
“We want our services to feel like a part of everyone’s everyday life,” she added.
To continue raising awareness about food insecurity in America, the center will host a “Nourish to Flourish” dinner at Sherman’s on Lake Caroga on Aug. 22 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
“This is a great opportunity to teach people about nutrition through our ‘Food Is Medicine’ program, but also a great opportunity to tell stories, have fun and ask important questions,” Garramone said. “It will help people learn what it means to engage with the people we see every day and support the programs that help them get what they really need.”
One Church Street is always accepting donations for the services the center provides. To get involved as a donor or to volunteer at the center, visit onechurchstreet.org.
“We must keep moving forward,” Gilmore said of his vision for the future of One Church Street. “The lonely, the lost and the forgotten suffer many things in our community, and food insecurity should not be one of them.”
