Christ the King Love Pantry

Flying under the radar, is a food bank that is very different than other community based organizations. The Love Pantry, operated by Christ The King Lutheran Church, aptly named since the food for the most part comes from the Christian love of the community from the congregation members. Over 4000 People have been served in the past year.

Fueled by volunteers: organizer Jim Preston and populated by the following: 

Dennis Lorenz,Darryl & Rita Miller,Lee Erwin,Jim & Colleen Preston,Lowell Nelson,Toby Heldreth,Tom Muhly,Candy and Larry Comer,Rosalie Williams,Rich & Annie Whipple,Tex Ritchie, and Dr. John Land. In addition, volunteer students from Lakes Middle School regularly volunteer.

In addition to the donations of their time at the Love Pantry, they can be seen weeding and cultivating

not to mention the harvesting the weekly  vegetables which go directly to the Thursday meetings of the pantry, which operates from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm every Thursday. Other than the many contributions that are given by the congregation, Winco Foods is a large contributor, as well as 

USDA and second harvest.

 Once a month, a program instituted by Dr. Land provides 10 family bags which hold only fresh foods and no  prepared ingredients.  They have the ingredients for a family from 4-6 along with directions on how to fix them. Recipes included.

This accomplishments several things. One, it encourages people to use fresh ingredients, rather than the more expensive frozen and canned foods that are loaded with preservatives and excessive salt. It provides ingredients and recipes for preparing a dinner for a family of 4-6.

It educates people on how easy it is to simplify the preparation for their family. An added benefit is that it encourages families to eat together, something that has been missing in many if not most families and used to be the glue that got the family together at least once a day.

Dr. Land, a transplanted Englishman refers back to Medieval strip gardens but for those of us that are old enough to remember, it was like the victory gardens of WW11. 250 years late for the revolution, he is still determined to make a difference. He has.

The services that the church provides are Heritage Health mobile medical services that visit every two weeks. Pastoral services are also available for those needing spiritual assistance by  Pastors Bob Sunquist, John Muhly and Deacon Larry Comer. The church is located at 1700 Pennsylvania, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho