The Pantry is an outreach ministry of the North Liberty First United Methodist Church, but the service area and support are community wide. Our primary focus is North Liberty and surrounding rural areas of Johnson County.
The Pantry was created in 1985 as a response to requests from families in need in our community. Until 2004 the Pantry was a small project that served 15 to 20 families each month. In response to a growing community and growing need, the Pantry was expanded in 2004, but that was just the start.
As North Liberty continued to grow, the Pantry felt it was necessary to increase capacity. In 2013, the Pantry opened the doors to a new permanent facility, with more space to better serve families and expand operations.
In 2015, the Growing Together Garden broke ground and changed the way our community learns about growing food, the need for fresh, nutritious choices at food pantries and opened volunteer opportunities for neighbors with knowledge in gardening. The Growing Together Garden was the catalyst for healthy eating education as a focus at NLCP.
In 2021, we opened the North Liberty Community Closet. The first ever free clothing resource of its kind in Johnson County. The need for new socks and underwear was proven persistent throughout the year so adding this service in the Community Closet was an obvious choice.
The Pantry has seen rapid growth as a result of three factors: increasing awareness of the Pantry, increasing population growth in North Liberty, and increasing economic need. The pantry now serves over 700 local families and is regularly distributing more than 400,000 pounds of material goods from food, toiletries, to laundry detergent and clothing.
northlibertycommunitypantry.org 