The Raton Hunger Pantry has been around forty plus years, providing a service for vulnerable families, children, seniors and individuals who do not have enough food in their homes. With the recent appointment of Daniel Griego, Jr. as director, the Hunger Pantry is embarking on the start of a new chapter in its decades-long existence.
THE BACKSTORY
The Raton Hunger Pantry was the inspiration of the late Kerry Palomino, a popular Raton seamstress. Initially, in the early 1980s, the Pantry was located in the back alley side of the Raton Community Center on North Third Street and was managed by Palomino and some volunteers from the First Presbyterian Church. Food was collected by a few people devoted to the cause and occasionally Palomino was contacted by the New Mexico Port of Entry to pick up excess food from overloaded trucks.
At some point the charitable efforts of Palomino and her crew came to the attention of Reverend Art Opmeer, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church,who quickly offered the Pantry a new home in the church’s basement. The church’s session group approved the idea, in this way providing an improved location as well as becoming regular contributors of food and funds.
Once the Pantry was church-sponsored, numerous members of the flock became regular volunteers, ongoing food drives and donations provided food items for the Pantry’s shelves, and guidelines were put into place.
As with many fledgling organizations, the Pantry suffered some growing pains. Although guidelines were in place, with applications required, volunteers were lax about enforcing the guidelines and within a few years there was a demand-supply imbalance.
Around this time, Reverend Doug Rich assumed the pulpit of the Presbyterian Church. When he was notified of the Pantry’s predicament of more people than food, he decided to seek the assistance of other congregations in Raton. An executive board was established, comprised of representatives from several churches, and contributions of food and finances began trickling in. The husband and wife duo of Stan and Betty Lloyd became the co-directors. The Pantry began to operate like a business with monthly financial reports furnished to participating churches.
The Lloyds continued their work as co-directors for five years, until Stan’s failing health forced them to step down. Director in training, Pat Bell, along with her husband, Crews, took charge of the Pantry. For the next eight years the Bells efficiently managed the Pantry, adhering to the established rules and norms initiated by the Lloyds.
In 2009 the Bells moved to Amarillo, Texas, leaving the Pantry in sound financial shape with a team of capable volunteers in place. Bell shared her budget know-how and management skills with Janet Wingo, a volunteer she had worked with for several years. Wingo declined the position of director, but agreed to take on the task of managing the Pantry’s finances. In lieu of a director the volunteers shared both the work and the decisions of the Pantry’s food distribution ministry. The staff of volunteers was ecumenical, involving several denominations, thereby promoting Christian unity.
TURMOIL IN THE HUNGER PANTRY
In the early part of 2022 Wingo, as chief financial representative for the Hunger Pantry, received notification from the Presbyterian Church that the Pantry could no longer operate under its EIN (Employee Identification Number). The EIN is a unique number that identifies an organization to the Internal Revenue Service. The Pantry had been operating under the larger entity’s EIN and tax exempt status for about twenty-five to thirty years. Coincidentally, WaFed (Washington Federal) Bank, where Pantry funds were deposited, announced plans to close its Raton Branch. With this unfolding of events everything shifted in the Raton Hunger Pantry, temporarily putting the iconic organization in jeopardy.
Prior to the unexpected developments, the Pantry, committed to reducing hunger in Raton, was humming right along: its coffers were full, donations were steadily coming in and a cadre of dedicated volunteers were operating the organization like a well-oiled machine. The Pantry had managed to stay open during the Covid-19 Pandemic, reducing food insecurity for many of the town’s residents.
The Hunger Pantry volunteers scrambled to find a solution to their dilemma. Opening a new account at another bank required an EIN number.
Several Pantry volunteers contacted area churches to seek assistance, without result. A couple of volunteers, Naomi Winders and Liz Plotner, rose to the challenge by bringing the plight of the Pantry to the attention of a local chiropractor, Dr. Monty McGowen, D.C., who is also pastor of Raton’s Lighthouse Church. After listening to an explanation of the situation by the two volunteers he soon expressed an interest in including the Pantry as one of the Church’s ministries.
A NEW CHAPTER
A seamless transition ensued with McGowen assigning the stewardship of the Pantry to Kittye Mosiman, a member of his congregation. Several other members of the Lighthouse Church, namely Daniel Griego, also volunteered to help at the Pantry, merging with the volunteers already in place, to carry out the organization’s mission of reducing hunger in the community. Following several months, Griego was approached by Mosiman and asked to take responsibility of the Hunger Pantry. Griego says, “I was asked to volunteer and a few months later I was the director. Kittye had quite a bit going on and asked if I would mind directing the Pantry and of course I said yes.”
Griego took the ball and ran with it. In just a few short months he has efficiently and successfully racked up a significant collection of accomplishments in his role as director, notably: reducing the cost of food, applying for non-profit status (including an EIN), purchasing a building to house the Pantry, conducting fundraisers, and developing new programs for community members in need. Griego says, “Our cost of food has decreased by over half, by partnering with The Food Deport of Santa Fe. We have also filed our 501(c)(3) and are officially a non-profit organization. By becoming a non-profit, we will be able to expand the services we provide.”
He goes on to say, “We are also purchasing our own building on 430 North Second Street. This allows us to implement new and exciting community-based programs such as a Widow’s Program and a community garden. These are in the planning stages and hopefully will be running by summertime.”
Griego explains how the Widow’a Program will work, “The Widow’s Program will be a no cost yard and house maintenance repair program that will benefit the elderly women in our community who cannot afford to have someone work and maintain their property. This will not be for remodeling their homes unless it is for handicapped accessibility.”
Griego is still on the lookout for a location for the community garden, and says he will “look for a viable area centrally located in Raton.” Details of this project are still in the development phase.
Another program, already in place in the newly purchased building, is the Community Closet. “We take in clothing donations and offer them at no cost to those in need,” states Griego.
Griego organized the Pantry’s first annual raffle in 2024 to generate needed funds for operation. He is grateful to local businesses for providing raffle prizes. “We were fortunate to have so many local businesses donate their services or products for the raffle,” he says. He is also appreciative of businesses, such as Phil Long Ford, and public service entities such as the U.S. Post Office for conducting non-perishable food drives, “ We are very fortunate to live in this community that has taken it upon themselves to start the food drives and then donate the food to us.”
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
A warrior for the needy and vulnerable would be an apt description of the newly appointed leader of the Raton Hunger Pantry, Daniel Griego, Jr. The keynote of his every act is providing assistance to those who are compromised by lack of money or the basic necessities of life.
Griego is a relative newcomer to northern New Mexico, transferring residence to Raton to be near his parents, Danny and Evelyn Griego. The elder Griegos moved to Raton two and a half decades ago.
Griego was born in Albuquerque, NM, and relocated to the Denver, Colorado area with his family when he was six years old. He attended school in the Denver suburb of Thornton, graduating from Thornton High School in 1991.
Griego was a welder by trade, until he injured his back. Around the same time he was experiencing the dissolution of his marriage. Facing these trying times Griego was in a state of uncertainty about the trajectory of his life. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do,” he relates. “This is when God clearly showed me what I was called to do. I enrolled at Liberty University (an online Christian university) to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology. Not long after I started classes I began searching for a home church. Soon after I started attending the Lighthouse Church.” That was the beginning…the spark that eventually ignited his interest in helping those who don’t have enough of life’s necessities.
As he leads the Raton Hunger Pantry in a bold new direction, Griego conveys his thanks to those responsible for the Pantry’s long-standing success, “I would like to thank the churches that have been stewards of the Pantry over the past years and our community who have supported the Pantry.”
Be First to Comment