What We Do
Belmont United Methodist Church started a food and clothing pantry in 2004 to address food and clothing insecurity in the Belmont and Broad Rock area of South Richmond. In 2016, we established Belmont Community Resource Services, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Our mission is to provide a feeding and clothing ministry as well as our efforts to empower residents to strengthen their community according to their own dreams. Our food and clothing ministry have grown tremendously in scope, size, and geographic outreach since 2019.
Belmont Pantry
The Belmont Pantry is supported by a small team of part time staff (Curtis and Ray) and more than 50 volunteers who sort donated foods, pack weekly bags, and serve all who come to the pantry every Friday (nearly 1,600 families each month). The food pantry is part of Central Virginia’s Food Bank (Feed More) network and receives annual in-kind food donations from local groceries valued at $300,000 annually. The Pantry is funded by Belmont UMC members, partner churches, UMC Conference and District mission funds, as well as small grants and MANY in-kind donations.
Community Development
To move beyond addressing food insecurity and toward empowering residents to strengthen our community, we have partnered with Embrace Communities to initiate a community development approach that makes use of the gifts and talents of a neighborhood to help the residents take a leadership role in changing their neighborhood for the better.
The Closet
‘The Closet’ is an on-site-run clothing donation and dispersal center for those in need. We provide clothing, shoes, housewares, toys, learning materials, and so much more every Friday. The Closet is supported by one hourly staff member (Laura) and several dedicated and resourceful volunteers. We are always looking for new donations (no large appliances) which can be dropped off behind Belmont UMC at any time.
Donations of goods and services is how we are able to stretch every dollar to serve our families in need. Dry goods for the pantry and men’s clothing are always in need.