NEBRASKA CITY – A community action group founded to relieve loneliness and isolation among residents is now spearheading little free food pantries and hosting a Friday soup house in Nebraska City.

Gina Simrell of Small Beginnings said the government shutdown and possible disruptions in federal food assistance is revealing resilience in the Nebraska City community.

 

 

Simrell: “I do think it’s a factor, but what I see are people coming together. I see people donating. … We’re seeing people come together. We’re seeing churches take action. We’re seeing individuals taking care of other individuals and I think it’s beautiful.”

Small Beginnings is a faith-based Christian service group of five women who formed  with the idea of countering trends towards isolation with personal visits, but expanded its mission soon after forming in 2024.

 

 

Simrell: “When we first started we kept it pretty simple. We went to Riverview (Terrace) and started visiting people. We help people make meals, clean their apartments and just visited with people and started building connections there.”

The connection with food continued with the serving of a Thanksgiving dinner at the high rise apartments last November. They began taking meals out to homeless people and conversing about the community needs they might tackle.

 

 

Simrell: “We saw a need for things (food pantries) that are available 24/7. Not just something that is open three to five or on Saturdays. There are lots of resources in the community, but we also see that there are kids walking home from school that may not be able to go to the food pantry.”

As the women contemplated making little food pantries available along walking paths, they were approached by Jeff and Angie Lant about carrying on the Hungry Souls Soup House.

 

Simrell: “It was within our mission of building relationships, meeting people where they are and fostering that connection in the community.”

The women -- Bobbi Teten, Wynee Benedict, Pam Epp and Renee Stidd – organized a coat and blanket drive where they could meet people face to face. They offered a prayer box to collect written prayers and profess that people’s needs are worthy of their prayer time.

They started last December at the Hungry Souls Soup House with the financial support of donations from the community in the range of $125 a week. They make two soups to serve 60 plus.

Simrell said recent feedback on social media pages  indicates that interest is growing for food pantries and clothing drives.

 

Simrell: “As a group, we’re pretty resourceful and we try to help find things for people. We are seeing an uptick with people needing help with utilities, help with rent, help with food. At the moment we don’t have a lot of funds in our account. We are a 501(c)(3), so people can donate to us, but we have a list of resources like Otoe County Outreach or Project Response or the Ministerial Association and other churches that are helping in the community with food pantries. We have churches that are serving meals so we can kind of send them there.”

She said the free little pantries will change the landscape to offer 24/7 assistance.

Similar to the idea of the little free libraries, custom built food pantries are planned outside of the First Baptist Church, the Church of Christ and the Ministerio Internacional Dios Es Amor church on First Corso.

 

Simrell: “We hope to have them up and going as soon as possible. It would be great to have them stocked with food by Thanksgiving. Maybe it will be sooner than that.”

The Nebraska City Community Foundation is providing a grant for the material to build the little pantries and pay for a monthly food budget. She said others in the community are joining in.

Simrell: “What we’re really excited to see are groups in the community like boy scouts, girl scouts, softball teams, men and women in the community saying we’re going to fill these. We’re going to drop some groceries off. We’re really excited about seeing the community come together to make sure their neighbors are fed as one in five people in Otoe County are food insecure.”

 

Simrell: “We’re hoping that this year more and more people are feeling welcome, are feeling like ‘let’s get out on a Friday night and go have soup. We’re hoping to serve anybody in the community, everybody is welcome.”

She said a disruption in the federal food program known as SNAP is a factor in a town like Nebraska City, but also an opportunity for people to get involved.

 

Simrell: “I feel like we’re planting seeds in the community, little by little, getting involved and trying to do these little outreach things. I want to think that we are making a difference. I know there are individuals that see that.”

The Methodist Church offers a food pantry twice a month, Bethel Church hosts the Lincoln Food Pantry monthly and the Knights of Columbus hold a food pantry each Saturday.

Northridge Church has meal every Sunday in the basement of Bethel Church.

The Hungry Soul Soup House served from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Fridays at the First Baptist Church activity center on south Seventh St.