Canterbury Village and Woodside Bible Church has partnered up to officially open the Village Food Pantry last month.

The pantry, which is located on the southside of Woodside Bible Church at Canterbury Village features plenty of room for storage, distribution and aisles to allow space to walk through and see all food items on display

The food pantry is intended to serve families in need in surrounding communities that are struggling with hunger and food insecurities.

The Village Food Pantry concept began in 2020 during times when so many were having financial struggles through the pandemic.

The realization that there were so many local families and children within the community that there were going without meals, the mission to help became a heartfelt priority for Keith and Angie Aldridge; owners of Canterbury Village, along with Jon Dahlke, Community Outreach and Next Steps Director of Woodside Bible Church.

The renovation and construction of the Village Food Pantry began shortly after, and over the past year the event producers at Canterbury Village have been incorporating food drives into their local events, which have already collected thousands of pounds of food and helped hundreds of households, even prior to the official grand opening of the Village Food Pantry.

The Village Food Pantry will host distributions Monday and Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Anyone in need is welcome to walk in anytime on distribution days for assistance.

For those interested in donating, food items can be dropped off at Woodside Bible Church in Lake Orion from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The Village Food Pantry suggests packaged foods such as cereal pasta, packaged rice/potatoes, macaroni and cheese and other boxed/non-perishable food items.

Those interested in providing monetary donations or becoming a volunteer, can contact Jon Dahlke at Woodside Bible Church or visit www.woodsidebible.org.

— Megan Kelley