LIFE cut the ribbon and opened doors at Shoppers Haven location Thursday, September 10

By Chuck Gibson 

LOVELAND, OH (September 22, 2020) – In case you missed it, LIFE Food Pantry has moved from Prince of Peace to a more spacious location at Shoppers Haven. 

Loveland Valentine Ladies were on hand for the LIFE Food Pantry ribbon cutting (Chuck Gibson)

Thursday, September 10, LIFE Food Pantry officially cut the ribbon on their new location in Shopper’s Haven. Executive Director Linda Bergholz did the honors snipping the ribbon at the door while city officials, several Valentine Ladies, members of the Loveland InterFaith Effort Food Pantry, and a crowd of interested onlookers watched. Among the Loveland city officials was Mayor Kathy Bailey who expressed congratulations and thanks to Bergholz and the Food Pantry for all the good they do for those in need in the community.

Linda Bergholz, Executive Director LIFE Food Pantry Cuts the Ribbon (Chuck Gibson)

“LIFE has been wonderful for years,” said Bailey. “The city is very grateful for you and for the volunteers of the Food Pantry. We’re very happy for you and very proud of you.”

The new location will provide much needed additional space for food items LIFE distributes to families in need. Shoppers Haven also provides a more central location with easier access for the families who receive services compared to the former location at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church at the intersection of W. Loveland Avenue and Lebanon Road.

Prince of Peace Pastor, Rev. Jonathan Eilert said a blessing for LIFE Food Pantry (Chuck Gibson)

“I’m exhausted; it’s happy exhausted,” said Bergholz. “This is something we’ve always wanted to do, but didn’t have funds to do it.”

An outpouring of support during the COVID crisis brought an increase in donations which have allowed LIFE Food Pantry to finally realize the dream of increasing their space. Make no mistake, Bergholz and all involved with the food pantry are forever grateful to Prince of Peace for the space they’ve used over the years. 

The LIFE Food Pantry board members l-r Chad Planner, Jeff Scheeler, Terri Carter, Jenny Goodpaster Connie Rotterman, Linda Bergholz, Lisa Waddell, and Sandy Powers-Griffin (Chuck Gibson)

The new location provides a lot more space for food items and convenience for clients (Chuck Gibson)

The truth is, that space fell short of meeting their needs and required using distant storage locations for stocking of food items. The move increases their total square footage from just 220 sq.ft. to 2,000 sq. ft. at the new site. They decided they had to move into this space.

“It was truly one of those God moments, blessings,” Bergholz said. “Somebody came to us and said we want to make a donation to pay the rent for the space you are using. We told him up front we were moving. . . and he wrote us a check. I want everybody to know how grateful we are to Prince of Peace. They did nothing but support us. To make the move into this (space) just made it so much more incredible. I tried not to cry because of what this means to our clients.”

More information at: https://lifefoodpantry.org/