The Leelanau Christian Neighbors food pantry is celebrating its 20th year of doing the "neighborly" thing for others.

The pantry served its first family food on April 21, 1987. In the years since, thousands of men, women and children have been helped by the group, formed by a core group of that included Mary and the late Jack Reynolds Shanahan of Suttons Bay Congregational Church, pastors and lay people. Their pantries are located at the Congregational Church in Suttons Bay and St. Gertrude’s Church in Northport.

“We have more than 100 volunteers who do everything from order food to fill bags,” said Carrol Nichols, who joined the group after retiring to Suttons Bay 11 years ago. “When you see a family with three or four children come in and carry out a big bag with a smile on their face …The reward is being able to say ‘today was a good day.’”

The first recorded minutes of the group dated back to June 1987 with $217 “on hand.” Last year, the organization has adjusted income of $53,178, and expenses of $52,477. Income sources include $2,100 from Church World Services from the local CROP Walk; $3,500 in proceeds from a spring fundraising project; and $7,000 from participating churches. The churches include Trinity United Church of Christ, Bethany Lutheran, Evangelical Covenant; St. Gertrude and St. Christopher Episcopal in Northport; Suttons Bay Congregational, Immanuel Lutheran, Keswick United Methodist and St. Michael in Suttons Bay; St. Wenceslaus, Gill’s Pier; St. Mary in Lake Leelanau; and the Methodist Church in Leland.

In 2006, some 14,155 pounds of food were donated to the pantries in Suttons Bay and Northport, up about 4,000 from 2005. Likewise, the number of families served and number of bags of food distributed have increased. Some 2,332 families received bagged food products from LLCN last year, compared to 2,074 in 2005.

Traditional household staples are now accompanied by some fresh vegetables and fruits.

“Through the Fresh Food Partnership we start getting fresh green vegetables in the spring,” Nichols said, adding that the pantry also receives produce from the community garden planted and maintained by youth through the Probate and Family Court. “We also get fruit in the summer and all types of squash in the fall.”

Since last fall the LCN, through a $5,000 grant from the Campbell Foundation of Traverse City, has been offering coupons to clients that can be used at Hansen Foods and Tom’s Food Markets for items not available from the pantry, such as meat, dairy and bread.

LCN also offers help to the needy through its Neighborhood Assistance Ministry (NAM), which makes emergency assistance to those issues like facing eviction, utility shutoff, and vehicle troubles.

According to Marsh, six out of seven of those seeking help through NAM are women with children who are struggling financially. Typically, they are on their own with their children because of divorce, abandonment, abuse, working at minimum wage jobs, or layoffs. One initiative that is expected to help is a new mentor program, in which the needy are paired with trained volunteers to help them in changing their financial situation.

Pantry hours are 1 to 3 p.m. Monday and Wednesday in Suttons Bay, and 4:30 to 7 p.m. in Northport on Monday.

For more information, call 1-866-643-4426. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 32, Suttons Bay, MI 49682.