UNC class raises money for Heavenly Groceries

Heavenly Groceries collects foods from local sources to hand out at St Joseph Christian Methodist Church on Rosemary Street. They set up the basement of the church to look like a grocery store and individuals from the community come through with their own bags and take home groceries for the week. It appeared that most of the groceries that week were provided by Trader Joes. Any groceries that were damaged or not good anymore were saved for the hogs, so no food went to waste. Heavenly Groceries collects foods from local sources to hand out at St Joseph Christian Methodist Church on Rosemary Street. They set up the basement of the church to look like a grocery store and individuals from the community come through with their own bags and take home groceries for the week. It appeared that most of the groceries that week were provided by Trader Joes. Any groceries that were damaged or not good anymore were saved for the hogs, so no food went to waste. Student volunteers help out church members and on the day I was there student were in charge of picking up the food and driving in back to the church in the churches own van as well as unpacking and setting up all the food.

When U.S. military cadet Carlos Cordero stepped into professor Jennifer Ho’s English 271 class this semester, he had no idea he would be stepping into what would become his newest mission: to raise $5,000 by the end of the year for a Heavenly Groceries van.

Heavenly Groceries, a subset of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center, is a certified food bank and ministry of St. Joseph CME Church that is dedicated to providing grocery items to underserved communities in and surrounding Chapel Hill.

Started by ministry member, Gladys Pendergraph-Brandon in 2011, Heavenly Groceries became the only self-serve food bank in North Carolina.

The work the organization does is completed by church members, UNC students and other individuals within the community.

The organization has been serving a monthly average of 2,883 households from at least five different counties. But as the food bank continues to grow, so does the demand — which is where Cordero comes in to help.

The van he is raising money for will replace the program’s current van and help pick up its groceries, as well as run other errands.

“Getting this van would help in so many ways,” said Cordero. “My mission is to just try to get at least a thousand people to donate — even if it’s just $5 — to the GoFundMe so that they can keep serving the community that has already done so much for me.”

Ho has also begun searching for ways to raise money for the Jackson Center. Originally on the hunt for a donation website that had a minimum donation of one dollar, she eventually stumbled upon GoFundMe.com, which has a slightly higher minimum of $5.

“It’s for such a great cause, and I really just want everyone to know about it,” said Ho.

The Jackson Center staff said they are excited and hopeful about getting a van to help with the errands.

Although their current vehicle is still running, staff member Brentton Harrison said that the center’s current van is in poor shape.

“It definitely needs to be replaced, but it’s just the funds of how to get another one,” said Harrison.

Although Cordero has set up a GoFundMe account for the van, as of time of press, it still had $4,865 to go — but the veteran has a plan of action.

Nearby army base Fort Bragg has car auctions for its unwanted cars, and with $5,000, Cordero hopes to buy one of these vans for Heavenly Groceries.

“They basically auction off these vans that are for much cheaper than you could find anywhere else but are still in great condition,” said Cordero.

The van’s GoFundMe website will be open until the end of the year but Harrison said the center would love to replace the van as quickly as possible.

Ho said she hopes everyone will donate at least the $5 minimum.

“This is such a great thing, and I wanted it to keep serving this community, which is so rich in culture,” she said.

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