Community Cupboard

We are happy to announce a new Community Cupboard food pantry has been installed on the Jesse Lee Church campus under the bridge that connects the church building with Wesley Manor. This Community Cupboard is “Give & Take” pantry. People who have some non-perishable food items and cleaning supplies they’d like to donate are welcome to leave them in the food pantry and those that need some supplies are welcome to pick up what they need.

The idea for the mini food pantry was inspired by 11-year-old Ruby Weiner. During the pandemic, Ruby and her mom brought some food to fill up the food pantry at St. Stephen’s Church. The next day, when they walked by, the pantry was empty again. Ruby asked her mom what happened to all the food they put in there the day before. Her mom explained that times are hard and people pick up the food when they need it.

That motivated Ruby to apply for, and receive, a $500 grant from Sodexo to create more Community Cupboards around town. She reached out to Clark Construction to see if they would use her grant money to build more of the pantries. They wouldn’t take the money, but they did build five more pantries pro bono and they have been installed all over town.

Steven Medearis, a member of Jesse Lee Church, was so inspired by Ruby’s passion to help where needed that he coordinated the effort to get a Community Cupboard installed at Jesse Lee.

“Seeing an 11-year-old girl make such a difference in the lives of others made us want to join her efforts,” explained Medearis. “We hope Ridgefielders will join in the Community Cupboard ‘Give & Take’ pantry so we can make things a little easier as we all work through the challenges of life during a pandemic.”

The Community Cupboard at Jesse Lee was dedicated this weekend to Ron Lee, a Methodist minister for 55 years and Matt Medearis’ step-father. Since Ron was 17, he felt called to be a pastor and he dedicated his whole life to preaching and helping others. He is a beautiful example of someone who lives life being a beacon of God’s light, dedicated to bringing hope and healing to people. We are honored to dedicate this Community Cupboard to Ron’s legacy.

Call 203.438.8791 for more information.