Feeding the People

Published on January 28, 2025

Wednesdays are busy days for Knights of Columbus volunteer Jim Carter.

That’s when he drives in from his house in Winchester to the Knights of Columbus food distribution center on North Cameron Street. There, Jim and his team load his truck with delivery boxes full of frozen meals, soups, sandwiches, and non-perishable goods to be delivered to hundreds of area residents before the end of the day.

Their mission is simple: get food to people who need it the most.

Jim and his team of committed Knights of Columbus volunteers have known for a long time that plenty of Winchester families struggle to make ends meet. Since the 1980s, the Knights of Columbus has operated a food pantry at its North Cameron Street location.

For many years, Jim and his team saw the long lines at their pantry and other local pantries, a situation that seemed to only get worse after the pandemic. Like many of us, they wanted to do more…but how?

Jim had an advantage, though. He had a pickup truck and time to help, as the 30-year Air Force veteran was recently retired from private business. The result was the establishment of Frederick County’s first – and thus far, only – food pantry delivery service.

Nearly four years later, Jim and his team deliver thousands of nutritious meals and essential personal care items every week to neighbors who have a hard time getting to a grocery store or food pantry.

According to Knights of Columbus Director Bill Melvin, the program also represents a true community-wide effort, bringing together local churches, nonprofits, service clubs, high school students, and a wide range of resident volunteers. Catholic Charities, Sacred Heart Parish, Highland Food Pantry, CCAP, and Blue Ridge Food Bank provide many of the staple goods delivered by the Knights of Columbus team. Donations can come from surprising sources, too. For example, just last month a local resident donated 40 crates of 30 dozen fresh eggs each! (Recipients may have noticed a significant increase in eggs and egg-based meals in recent deliveries.)

Meanwhile, each of the soup kitchen’s six volunteer teams purchase, cooks, packages hot, nutritious, and serves the Wednesday meal. NW Works employees perform warehousing tasks and fill non-perishable orders. On the back end, Stephens City Trinity Lutheran and Emmanuel United Methodist Churches help distribute excess meals and non-perishable goods to where they are most needed, said Melvin.

To volunteer as a food preparer, packager, warehouser, or delivery person – or make a financial donation to the program – please contact Bill at 540-588-1537 or wmeilge@icloud.com. Melvin noted that tax-deductible donations can be made through the Columbus Club, a registered 501c3 organization.

Although it’s not easy work – and at his age he could certainly find a volunteer desk job somewhere if he wanted it – Jim enjoys the satisfaction he receives as a Knights of Columbus volunteer.

“There are days, especially when it’s cold or raining, when it would be easy to stay at home. But then, I see the faces of my neighbors when I make a delivery and realize how much this means to them. Not just the food, but the friendship and comradery, as many of them rarely leave their homes. And that makes it all worth it.”