NON-Profit - The Storehouse Mission
NON-Profit - The Storehouse Mission
Written by Julia Kennedy Jayes Saturday, 07 October 2006
Sandra and Jack Cochrun opened the Storehouse Mission food pantry in Pflugerville with one purpose: to feed the hungry. It may sound simple, but their goal is ambitious.
The food pantry will celebrate its third anniversary, Oct. 4. In those three years, the mission has fed more than 25,000 people, providing them with the food and supplies they need to get through emergencies, temporary set-backs and any other unfortunate circumstances.
The growth of the mission, which served more than 1,000 people in August alone, caused the Cochruns in March to move to a larger location in the POP Plaza on FM 685.
“The new location is so nice!” Sandra said. “We can sit and talk with people and offer words of encouragement – not just food.”
But the Cochruns don’t see expansion as their long term plan.
“We want to serve as a model for others who are interested in opening food pantries of their own,” explains Sandra. “We’ve written a manual and we have a DVD that details what we’ve done here. We want to inspire others. Ideally, I can envision three food pantries serving Pflugerville alone.”
The Storehouse Mission has worked to recruit teams of volunteers through relationships with local employers and other groups, like Dell. The mission has about 25 regular volunteers and rotating crews that pitch in how and when they can, like the team who was busy taking a Spanish lesson during our interview.
The Mission’s visitors hear about the food pantry through the school districts, the Capitol Area Food Bank, the 211 system, and of course, word of mouth.
“When you work with the poor, there is a whole sub-culture,” says Sandra of the Mission’s rapid expansion, “and word gets out.”
The mission is the only local food pantry that stays open on Saturdays and has no regional restrictions.
“Most food pantries only serve those who live within a particular zip code,” explains Sandra. “But I’m not bothered when people get food from all sorts of places. When you have a whole house full of mouths to feed, you do whatever you have to; go wherever you can. We represent the love of God to people. When they leave here, they have enough food and supplies for three-to-five days’ worth of meals.”
The Cochruns work hard to make the food pantry a modern, successful model. Their Web site, www.thestorehouseofaustin.org, is easy to navigate and provides useful statistics and inspirational stories in addition to information about donating your time, food, know-how, prayers or good wishes.
After losing their jobs and financial stability at the ages of 59 and 60, Sandra and Jack were once fed by a food pantry themselves. That moment of kindness and understanding led them to begin the Storehouse Mission. It is their hope that they, in turn, will provide the inspiration and model to others who will reach out to even more people, offering food, supplies and hope to those who need it.
How you can help:
- Non-perishable food items and meat, bread, frozen foods, detergent, toilet paper, bar soap
- Food drives
- Faithful monthly partners - BE A HUNGER BUSTER - $25/MONTH.
- Volunteer
Clients asked to provide:
- Photo ID (driver’s license)
- Proof of address (mail addressed to them)
Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
The Storehouse, 1202 FM 685, C-5 , POP Plaza, Pflugerville, TX 78660, 512-989-9989, Mailing Address: P.O. 1256, Pflugerville, 78691
0 Comments 
