In a Newark church basement, with red and white checkered tile flooring, fluorescent lights, and the smell of coffee brewing in the back room, Elizabeth Benvie sits at a folding table, waiting for clients.
Benvie, a 52-year-old mother of nine, has been running a “baby pantry” out of Wright Memorial United Methodist Church for the last 25 years. During that time, she has given out countless diapers, cans of formula and endless bottles of baby wash.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the pantry at 735 Mt. Vernon Road in Newark offers baby products at no cost for parents in need from across Licking County. With proof of residency within Licking County, a photo ID, and a household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, families can access diapers, formula, food and even clothes.
The baby pantry is one location within the Food Pantry Network of Licking County (FPNLC), a larger non-profit organization dedicated to “feeding neighbors in need,” according to their website. They operate over 20 satellite locations across Licking County open at different days and times throughout the week.
Read more: Licking County Food Pantry transitioning to more customer-centric services
Benvie began working at the pantry in 1999 when, during a church board meeting, she heard the pantry was going to close due to lack of volunteers. She had joined the church 10 years earlier, at 17, when her father became its pastor.
Now, she and her two young daughters are at the pantry every Tuesday and Thursday. As the girls sit in the back doing their homeschool work, Benvie helps the clients who trickle through the door.
“We haven’t been super busy since 2019,” Benvie said. “You want to be available, but you really don’t want to be busy, because you want people to have enough money and be able to supply their own needs.”
Charles Moore, the executive director of the Food Pantry Network, has expressed a similar sentiment.
“My ultimate goal is to put myself out of business,” Moore said.
As grocery prices continue to rise, it is unlikely that Moore or Benvie will close their doors any time soon.
Between 2023 and 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the cost of baby food and formula increased 8.7%. And severe shortages in food and formula in 2023 led to significant price hikes, prompting the White House to intervene. Although shortages have eased and formula is back on the shelves, prices remain higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Currently at Walmart, a 34-ounce container of powdered formula can range from anywhere from $20 to $55 or more. According to the Washington State Department of Health, a fully formula-fed infant under 1 year old averages between seven and 10 cans per month — meaning parents are spending hundreds of dollars each month just to feed their babies.
Those hundreds of dollars are more than many Licking County families can afford.
According to a report by the United Way of Licking County, 37% of Licking County residents are considered “ALICE,” or “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.” The term describes individuals and households who earn above the federal poverty level but less than what’s needed to survive in the current economy. They’re often living paycheck to paycheck, and are one flat tire or unexpected medical expense from financial disaster.
Read more: 37% of Licking County households live one flat tire from financial disaster
Between the rising cost of living, potential income lost when mothers take maternity leave and the high price of medical care during and after birth, families in the ALICE income bracket may find themselves unable to afford even the most basic baby care needs, Benvie explained.
That is where the baby pantry comes in.
Destany Truex is a mother of three. Her youngest is a 6-month-old baby boy, and the baby pantry has become incredibly important to their family’s success.
“It is a really, really big help, especially because we are a single-income family,” Truex said. “It is really, really hard right now. And this is life-saving. Because without it, I honestly don’t know what we would do.”
Truex is not the only one, and Benvie said she sees anywhere from two to 19 families each day the pantry is open.
Until the day comes that Benvie and the Food Pantry Network can end hunger and insecurity in Licking County, they will be there with life-saving products, friendly smiles, and a warm cup of coffee in a church basement.
Sarah Sollinger writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.