(From left) Melissa Limes, thrift store manager, Jessi Koontz, executive director and Norwood Schoenke, thrift store assistant manager
By Emma Castleberry
For more than 23 years, Beacon of Hope has been meeting the emerging needs of those living in Madison County. What started as a small kitchen in a trailer has grown into the largest humanitarian relief organization in the county, a particular lifesaver during the pandemic. The organization shifted its services in 2017 due to a change in organizational staffing. “Where Beacon once offered a continuous line of pre-packed food boxes, we now offer an experience akin to shopping at a grocery store,” says chief executive officer Jessie Koontz. “Our adoption of the ‘client choice’ model allows families to choose the items they want based on their individual preferences and/or dietary restrictions.”
Beacon of Hope also offers the Madison Community Market (MCM), which provides cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, toiletries and other daily necessities that can be purchased with store credit that members earn by volunteering. This credit can also be used to purchase clothing and household items from Beacon’s donation-based thrift store. The organization also offers a free book and media library.
When COVID-19 hit, Beacon transitioned its client choice shopping model to a no-contact, pre-packed food model. Over the first few months of the pandemic, Beacon of Hope more than doubled its food distribution, going from roughly 35,000 pounds of food per month to more than 80,000 pounds. Beacon has little control over its food supply: the organization relies on food items ordered from MANNA FoodBank, received through USDA/NCDA food programs and donated by local grocers. “In the beginning months, this was extremely scary,” says Koontz, “as we witnessed a surge in food insecurity among local families in conjunction with fewer donations from grocery stores.”
(From left) Stephanie Davis, pantry volunteer; Lisa McCurdy, pantry volunteer; Bob Clifford, left, Beacon of Hope board member and pantry volunteer, and Christopher Keen, pantry volunteer
Koontz is quick to acknowledge that, whether the cause is a pandemic, a house fire or some other unforeseeable tragedy, “none of us are immune and all of us are equally vulnerable.” This unprejudiced approach is what many Beacon clients appreciate about the organization’s services.
“People here are not judgmental—they are welcoming and friendly,” says Amy, a Beacon client with no retirement income after a career in nonprofit work. “This is not the experience I have had at other places that are also supposed to be helping those in need. It is wonderful.” Beacon client Sally says she doesn’t “know what this county would do without this place. Lots of people in the county lost their partners and now only have half of what they used to.”
In Madison County, as with nearly every community, the pandemic has shined a spotlight onto societal problems and required a new, innovative approach to community need. “We realized, as a nation, what Beacon clients have known for years: our country is wholly unprepared to care for our citizens suddenly faced with food insecurity, job insecurity and housing insecurity,” says Koontz. “There is no safety net. Or, more appropriately, the safety net that exists is full of gaping holes.”
Beacon continues preparing for a long-term response that will support families in the aftermath of COVID-19. “Beacon of Hope is changing the face of hunger and creating a cultural shift by removing the stigma typically associated with seeking assistance,” says Koontz. “Every single person deserves to have their most basic needs met, which includes access to healthy, nutritious foods. Period.”
For more information or to donate, visit TheBeaconofHopeMarshall.org.
