A year and a half ago, Lisa Wilson’s husband endured three unexpected back surgeries.

The 35-year-old McGregor woman and her husband began missing meals so their three teenage children could eat.

But then she found Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry in Waco. The pantry’s organizers said the Wilsons were one of 170 families lining up each week to receive food.

David Torres, 12, passes a bag of apples to Hershel Redding during preparations.
Duane A. Laverty/Tribune-Herald

The pantry has relocated to the old Central Paint Co. store at 1401 N. 34th St. near Bosque Boulevard.

It will be open from 5-6 p.m. every Thursday. Families must show proof that their household income is below the poverty level.

Formerly operated through High Point Church, Shepherd’s Heart is now an independent, nonprofit organization.

At Thursday’s grand reopening, Wilson, as well as her son and her mother, served as volunteers.

“We’re still struggling,” Wilson said. “But the people here have been amazing to, us, and we want to give back. It feels so good to help people.”

It was that philosophy that inspired Bob Gager, the pantry’s executive director, to first open Shepherd’s Heart in 2003.

Gager grew up hungry and poor in the slums of south Chicago.

As a young boy, Gager made up his mind to accomplish something.

He did. After high school, he joined the Army.

“It’s not easy, but you can do it,” Gager said. “You just have to work hard. It’s too easy to listen to the people who live in that environment who tell you that you can’t. If you listen to them, you won’t.”

Gager was astounded at the need in North Waco.

“We were feeding 170 families per month, with four to five people in each of those families,” he said. “They were wrapped around the building. It was like a cattle drive.”

The North Waco location is ideal, he said, since it is just off the city bus route. The pantry is one of several in the Waco area and is stocked by the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas and donations from churches.

Cody Koonsman sets bags of apples on a table Thursday during preparations for the reopening of the Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry. Koonsman served as a volunteer.
Duane A. Laverty/Waco Tribune-Herald

“There are a lot of people that just fly under the radar as far as being taken care of, whether it be food stamps or being able to get help when they need it,” Gager said. “There are a lot of children out there who get meals only at school. We can’t take care of everything, but we’re going to focus on what we can.”

Glenda Shayne, vice president of community programs at the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas, said the number of new clients rose 48 percent in 2009 from the previous year.

“We’ve never seen an increase like this,” Shayne said. “It’s bad. People are being put in a position that they haven’t had to deal with.

“I’ve heard so many times, ‘I used to give to the food bank, and now here I am.’ It happens much more than you would like to think.”

The Austin-based food bank, which serves 21 counties in Central Texas, distributes to pantries such as Caritas and various churches. These pantries are seeing that the food they receive is sometimes not enough.

“It’s kind of like bailing out a ship with a bucket of water,” Gager said. “It’s a big job. No one person or one pantry can do it.”

equinn@wacotrib.com

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