Benevolence Ministry

Holy Scripture teaches us ‘Meeting Needs, Sharing Christ’ is synonymous. God’s Word throughout scripture, commands us to minister to the poor, to help them, and care for them. It is our joy and blessing to serve Bay County in these areas.

God has blessed and expanded His work by allowing us to become one of the largest food pantries in the county, providing food and clothing to hundreds of people each week. In November of 2012, we moved into the Center of Hope building, enabling us to expand in scope the amount of food, clothing and pregnancy care.

We minister to people giving dignity, confidentiality, and encouragement as Jesus commanded in Matthew 25:34-40. We give generously, without any bias or prejudice in any area of age, imparity, color, nationality, gender or religion.  None of our workers receive any monetary compensation or salary…. all serve for the joy of helping others.

In 2024, we served 18,027 families, which consisted of 66,208 people.  Over 1 million pounds of food was processed through the Benevolence Ministry and distributed to these families.

We receive food from USDA and from Feeding the Gulf Coast.  Supplying this amount of food each year requires substantial resources. We rely on monetary donations each year to pay our food purchases and operating expenses which exceed $150,000.00 per year.  You give…. we give!

How can you help?

• By volunteering your time in helping to prepare food boxes for the clients or carting boxes out to the curbside for them to pick up. Or perhaps you prefer to work in the back, stocking shelves or unloading trucks.
• By sorting and hanging donated clothing as well as other items.
• By coordinating and hosting food drives or fund raisers with your church or civic organizations.
• By providing monetary donations. (Please click on the Donations link)

Stop by and let us give you a tour of our facilities at 3101A West 17th Street, located in the Center of Hope building.  Hours of operation are Mon-Fri mornings 8:30AM-11:30AM and Thur evenings 5:30PM-7:30PM.  We will show you firsthand what happens at the Benevolence Ministry.  (*Mailing address is 3101A West Highway 98 Panama City, FL 32401)

We would love for you to join us for one or more mornings a week and become part of the Benevolence Ministry team. You will be blessed!