Celebrating 11 years of service!
Serving our community since 2012.
About the NGCC food pantry
The Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard (NGCC) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (EIN: 47-1677003). Founded in 2012, the NGCC has been working to end food insecurity within our community for over ten years. As part of our mission, the NGCC provides food & hygiene products for hundreds of families in our community every month.
While some of our food and personal care items are obtained through our partnership with the Akron Canton Regional Food Bank, the majority come from donations made within our community.
Who do we serve?
The Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard is chartered to serve residents residing in the James A. Garfield school district. Our service area encompasses Garrettsville, Freedom, Nelson, and parts of Hiram Township.
If your primary residence is outside of our service area, click here to locate your local food pantry.
Looking back. Moving forward.
2012
The idea began with the desire to help our neighbors who were struggling to put food on the table during these tough times. How could we help? What could we do? What was the best way to get started? Word spread, the idea grew and a group of concerned residents came together and decided it was time to act. After months of planning, hard work and generous support, the Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard was born!
NGCC officially opened on February 27, 2012 in the storage area behind Isaac Mills Bakery on Nelson Circle. It was the first established community food pantry consistently serving all of the Garrettsville/Freedom Twp/Nelson Twp region. The response from both supporters and clients was overwhelming and we quickly realized a larger facility would be needed soon.
2013
In November of 2013 we made our big move to downtown Garrettsville! Our new location provided us with more space, better parking, handicap access and greater visibility to the community. We were able to not only expand the number of families we could serve but also increase the amount of food given to each family.
2014
Unfortunately, we were only in our downtown location for 4 months when the fire that devastated Garrettsville’s Buckeye Block occurred. We, like our neighbors, lost everything. We were down, but definitely not out! Once again the community stepped up and NGCC received overwhelming support in the weeks and months following the fire. Thanks to a lot of hard work and donations from all over northeastern Ohio, we were able to re-open our doors in a temporary location just two weeks after the fire!
2015-2019
The outpouring of support we received in the aftermath of the fire enabled us to expand once again. Since our humble beginning in 2012, we have tripled in size and operated out of 5 different locations. Now we are able to help even more area families with both grocery staples and perishable goods with the addition of our grocery store voucher program. Our monthly SnackPack Program in the JAG School District is a huge success. Our dedicated team of volunteers serve an average of 95 households (approx. 200 residents) every month.
2020-Present
The NGCC has found a forever-home in the Park Avenue Building, owned by the James A. Garfield Local School District. Renting a space from the Garrettsville Family YMCA, the NGCC now has more capacity and provides for a growing member-base.
In 2020 we expanded our service offerings to include holiday meals for Thanksgiving and Easter; formed partnerships with local 4H groups to source locally produced meat; and launched our home delivery program for members who can’t make it to distribution days in person.
The future looks bright for NGCC as we strive to increase our positive impact on the community with new programs and services to help our neighbors in need. We truly believe that together, we can Shut The Door On Hunger in our community!