Jubilee Center of Midland, a nonprofit organization, has provided food assistance for local communities for two decades. During an interview with Midland Times, Executive Director Myranda Pachlhofer explained her organization’s role in the community.
Pachlhofer said the center was founded in 2004. Its mission is to address food shortages faced by local families by managing a food pantry.
Jubilee Center started as a mission project by a local church, which no longer exists, according to Pachlhofer. Other churches joined together to keep the project’s food pantry open. In 2012 they formed a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization to continue the mission.
Jubilee Center is a “client choice” program that Pachlhofer says is to “empower” local residents who need food assistance. This is accomplished “by offering them the freedom to choose the type of food their family needs,” she said.
Pachlhofer describes the pantry as “like shopping at a grocery store,” which she says is an important way of “giving them back their dignity.”
The center also operates a community garden tended by volunteers, with the produce distributed to clients. Pachlhofer said the garden is significant because it stretches the center's budget to assist more families. According to Pachlhofer, this is especially important today because of increasing needs due to economic factors and population growth in Midland.
The center is seeking additional gardening assistants and volunteers to support its mission. The center is located on Andrews Highway.
For more information or to get involved, visit https://www.jubileemidland.org/