By Sharon Mager
JESSUP, Md. — Jessup Baptist Church (JBC) operates a monthly baby and toddler pantry, supplying hundreds of families with free diapers, wipes, formula, clothing, and other necessities. In addition, partnering with a YoungLives group, they also have a quarterly pantry for teen moms.
Pantry Founder Becky Delisio directs volunteers preparing for the Baby & Toddler Pantry opening on a Saturday morning at Jessup Baptist Church (Photo by Sharon Mager)
Founder and Director Becky Delisio says, “Last year, our budget for the baby pantry was $600, but we gave away over $60,000 worth of diapers, $30,000 in wipes, and $50,000 in formula. It’s insane the amount of material that’s come out of the pantry! Our church has put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but the actual funds from the church are very small. It’s just an incredible testimony to what the Lord can do with five fish and two loaves of bread. So I tell everybody, when you operate on faith, and the Lord is behind you, you’re going to see fruit from the ministry.”
JBC partners with charitable organizations, including The Anne Arundel Food Bank and the Walk the Walk Foundation. Local churches also provide help. LOVE AME has coat and toy drives. “They also kept us stocked in formula during the shortage in 2023,” said Delisio. Another church, Payne AME, brought their choir and ran the distribution center for months. Other local churches, including Life Connection Church, also help as they are able.
Even with all the help, the pantry sometimes maxes out due to increasing needs, but God provides. Delisio says, “I can’t tell you how many times we didn’t get the number of diapers and other donations we thought we expected, and then we’re opening the doors, and we’ve got a long line, and here comes someone pulling in with a truckload of diapers. One time, we were stressed because we ran out of pull-ups, which depleted our size five and six diapers. Then this man drives up, and it was like a clown car because he had bag after bag after bag of pull-ups. He kept us stocked for another two months.”
Jaquie Corvelli oversees the diaper and formula room. (Photo by Sharon Mager)
They have had challenges! Delisio says she thought she would have to shut the pantry down in May because of the lack of volunteers. She showed up with her four small children, the youngest strapped to her, and no volunteers. Then, out of the blue, two women, Jacquie Weinberg and Carmen Cedeno, walked in the door, ready to help. Cedeno speaks Spanish — a God-send to help with many of the Hispanic families. Delisio says both women have been solid, steadfast workers. It was also during this period that Delisio was dealing with illness from a confirmed dangerous brain leak that doctors said “healed itself.”
More volunteers have stepped forward, and the coffers are full. JBC members, including Jim Kayse, who faithfully takes care of the massive trash removal job, and the steady volunteers from all around, assist in the labor (and love) intensive pantry. In addition, various churches help when they can, and local high schoolers volunteer for community service credit. Becky says, “The pantry is literally like the woman with the oil because we’ve never run out of what we need since we opened. It didn’t come from our church. God just provided.”
Sharing about the background of the pantry, Delisio says it started in 2020. JBC used to collect change in baby bottles to help a local pregnancy center, but she felt led to do more, and God began opening her eyes to the possibilities.
During the COVID crisis, the church sent a small donation to their partnering church in Costa Rica and received a thank-you card with a photo showing how they used the funds. Delisio says, “They took the little bit of money we sent them and put together baby bags for moms in Costa Rica who couldn’t even get access to diapers because of the shutdown. I told my husband, P.J., if they can do this in a state of complete poverty and complete lockdown, what are we doing? And so PJ was like, well, let’s see what we can do.”
The idea of a baby & toddler pantry began to gel when JBC donated to Helping Hands of America Emergency Pantry, which primarily provided baby supplies to those in need, and they, too, sent a photo showing how many diapers they purchased with the funds. Becky told Helping Hands Founder Kim Donadio that she was amazed at what their organization could do. Donadio encouraged Becky, saying, “I can help you do this.”
Becky consulted JBC Pastor Bill Jones about starting a pantry, and he said, “If you want to run with it, let’s see where it goes!” And it went!
In 2021, Donadio started sending a lot of baby supplies for the church but no diapers. Still, the church put the items out and was surprised at the number of people that showed up. Two months later, Donadio asked, “Can I write you all a check for $2,500, and you can go buy diapers?” That generous donation allowed Becky to make their first giant diaper purchase from Costco.
The pantry started in a classroom and quickly expanded to use the whole first floor of the building. Guests register in the sanctuary, where Jones and others welcome them. Then, they “shop” for clothing, diapers, formula, and more. Outside, there are strollers, car seats, and other large items.
At a recent pantry, hands full, with a child beside her, one woman said, “I don’t know what I’d do without Becky and the pantry.” A social worker was browsing through clothing. She had a client from Belgium who was by herself and couldn’t speak English. The client was ready to give birth shortly and had one pack of diapers and a couple of outfits for her baby. The social worker heard about the pantry and contacted them. Becky and her volunteers quickly began gathering as much as they could to help the young woman.
Amanda Weinberg sorts and moves baby clothing. (Photo by Sharon Mager)
For information about how your church can start a similar ministry, email [email protected].
Sharon Mager serves as communications specialist/editor of BCM/D news & stories.