Ruby’s Pantry has been serving people in Rhinelander for the last 12 years. First ran by Grace Foursquare Church, then by Calvary Baptist Church for the last eight and a half years.
Pastor Rod Ankrom says at its peak during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were distributing more than 400 food bundles at its monthly distributions.
“We had people coming from Land of lakes. We had people coming from close to an hour plus away, sometimes from the U.P., so a long ways,” said Ankrom. “Lots of people coming as far as Crandon and Tomahawk. And, of course, a lot of people locally in Rhinelander.”
Ruby’s Pantry, which has been operating for 23 years, would get donations of food from manufacturers or retailers.
It would work with pop-up pantries like the one Calvary Baptist Church ran to see how many food shares or bundles they would need and then truck the food to the different pop-up locations across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Ankrom says each share would cost $25 to help offset transportation costs.
“It meets a really critical need because we required no one having any kind of financial disclosure, anybody could use Ruby’s Pantry. As we like to say in the day, we said, ‘That if you like to eat, you qualify for Ruby’s Pantry,’” said Ankrom. “That kind of fit that middle ground. Because a lot of people maybe don't necessarily fall in that category for being able to use the food pantry, but they still need help, and Ruby's Pantry fit that need perfectly.”
Ankrom says he was surprised and saddened by the news. He had no idea this was coming until he got the email from Ruby’s Pantry on Tuesday.
This is what the email said and all the information Ankrom has gotten:
Greetings,
Over the past several months, we have been thoughtfully realigning the work, structure, and focus of Ruby’s Pantry to ensure our mission remains at the center of everything we do. As part of this process, we have worked to better align community needs with our goal of operating in the most effective and seamless way possible.
As a result, we have decided to end the operations of Ruby’s Pantry effective immediately. We recognize that this is difficult news to receive and do not take this decision lightly.
God has blessed Ruby’s for over 20 years, and it has been an incredible journey. It all started from a vision to help others through a single blessing box. We are truly grateful for your contributions and dedication throughout your time with Ruby’s Pantry. Thank you for the important role you have played on this journey and for the impact you have made in service of our mission.
With gratitude,
Ruby’s Pantry
The same message is posted to the Ruby’s Pantry website and Facebook page. WXPR reached out to Ruby’s Pantry to try and learn more about the sudden closure. We have not yet gotten a response.
While Ankrom knows it's ending will impact the community, he also wants to make sure that the impact it did have in Rhinelander the last 12 years is celebrated.
“Ruby's had an incredible run here. It changed lives. It helped people, physically, helped people spiritually. It just made a tremendous difference, and it's too easy when something like that happens, just to simply walk away and not really celebrate but we need to celebrate those things,” said Ankrom. “That's why you have a celebration of life, right? When somebody passes away, you don't simply walk away. You celebrate the person that they were and the difference that they made in this world. I think it's right we do that to Ministries as well. Say thank you for all the good things that Ruby did for so long.”
Ankrom also wants to celebrate to thank all the volunteers and leadership team that worked hard to bring Ruby’s Pantry to Rhinelander each month.
According to its website, Ruby's Pantry had nearly 40 pop-up pantries in Wisconsin including Rhinelander, Butternut, Medford, and Wausau.
The next one in Rhinelander that was scheduled for April 21st will not be happening.
