Christian Action Ministries food pantry expands services in Taney County - KY3

BRANSON, Mo. (KY3) -Christian Action Ministries food pantry is expanding its services in Taney County after purchasing a new property at 2400 State Highway 165 in Branson.

In the 38-year history of CAM, there has not been a home base. That is changing with the new 15,000 square-foot building.

“We’ve always just sort of made due with what we had, and it’s generally been very small and inadequate,” said CAM Executive Director Kevin Huddleston.

Huddleston says the search for a facility that would accommodate the growing food insecurities in Taney County began two years ago. Staff says there aren’t many Branson area buildings that meet their needs and budget.

“We have at least three times the storage capacity that we previously had,” Huddleston said. “That will be not only for dry foods and shelf-stable foods but refrigerated and frozen foods.”

Assistant director Michele Dean says their primary location in downtown Branson was an old elementary school. Organizers say it was never meant to be a food pantry due to limited spacing.

”When we find a great deal on food, now we will be able to stock up on it,” said Dean.

Dean says as the pandemic slowly goes away, inflation is now driving up the need for food pantries. She says staff has seen more than a 50% increase in people needing access to food.

“We know there are several factors that go into that,” Dean said. “One is the rising cost of not just food, but gas, utilities, rent, things like that, that really put a crunch on household budgets.”

The new building for the group will also serve as a distribution hub for the CAM outreach program “Neighbor to Neighbor.”

“We will be loading up our trucks here and taking them into the communities,” said Dean. “That is what our heart is, is to use the food as the tool to minister to individuals in our community.“

”It’s about how we can build relationships, how we can build love with the people, give them hope, and share the love of Christ,” said CAM Vice-Chair Larry Johnson.

Dean says the new facility is expected to open this fall. She says as the organization expands, the need for volunteers increases.

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