Corner Provisions food pantry reopened at First Baptist Church of Boone on Jan. 19 to offer High Country residents assistance.
Kristel Rider, co-director of Corner Provisions, said the food pantry is focused on providing both perishable and nonperishable items on its shelves, like produce, meats, dairy, canned and baking items. Beginning on Feb. 16 and March 16 from 4-6 p.m., the food pantry will be open every third Monday of the month.
“We needed to start slow until we can see what resources we have and how much we might be able to handle, but we wanted to be open at a time that we thought people’s resources might be running low for the month, that we might be able to step in and fill in a gap through the end of the month.” Rider said.
Corner Provisions first opened in the late 2000s to provide food to Watauga County residents before COVID-19 led to its closure. The organization then partnered with Hunger and Health Coalition’s mobile delivery unit, giving it space to operate within the church until it moved out during the 2025 summer season.
The Rev. Jordan Humler, the associate pastor of First Baptist Church of Boone, said an ad hoc committee within the church started a survey to be sent around to church members, gathering opinions to see how feasible and manageable reopening the food pantry would be.
The church’s administrative council approved the idea and brought it up to the church congregation to vote on, setting the plan into motion after a majority in-favor vote. The church started collecting food in July of 2025, making plans to reopen toward the beginning of the new year.
Since then, Rider said the food pantry has received a considerable amount of donations from companies and organizations within the High Country. It has received support from Lowes Foods, Critcher Brothers Produce, Inc. and Howard’s Creek Church. App State fraternity Psi Mu Chapter of Omega Psi Phi and sorority Rho Theta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta have also held food drives to help in the collection process.
“We did really good with food collections and getting community support together,” Rider said.
The food pantry is run by a volunteer team, consisting of church and community members. Rider said they had 14 volunteers on-site during the first distribution and many more behind the scenes building relationships in the community and gathering donations. Rider also said any App State student who wants to volunteer or needs service hours for a class is welcome to contact the church and sign up.
High Country community members who are able to donate shelf-stable food are welcome and appreciated. Items needed are flour, sugar, salt, oil, mayonnaise, ketchup, salad dressing, barbecue sauce, mustard, jelly, boxed meals like Hamburger Helper and Suddenly Salad, shelf-stable milk and any kind of cereal.
Those wishing to learn more about the pantry or utilize its services can email the church’s office at [email protected] or visit the church’s lobby at 375 West King St. More scheduled dates for the pantry will be updated on First Baptist Church of Boone’s website.
