When Stephanie Scott-Huffman heard Kolbi Ward could feed her family of five with $200 for a month, she knew her innovative food pantry concept was coming together.
Both women love food and use it as a language to reach friends, families and soon strangers.
"I like food, it's the way I talk to people," Ward said.
The simple mission of "The Pantry" is "empowering people with better food choices."
Several months ago, Scott-Huffman looked over the food items donated to the small food closet at Table of Grace. It was a hodgepodge.
Some items were expired, some were undesirable, and others weren't nutritious or filling. And few items could easily be combined for a single meal.
"I thought - "we can do this better,'" Scott-Huffman said.
What sets The Pantry concept apart from other food resources will be the contents with which patrons are sent home.
Instead of depending on varying food donations, The Pantry has a short and specific list of pantry items, which directly tie in to recipes, which will be shared with the food.
Existing food pantries certainly are filling a need reflected by census data that more than 7,000 people in Jefferson City go hungry, she said.
Scott-Huffman sees The Pantry cooperating to further meet that need. To that end, she has been recruiting community-wide organizations and churches to join the idea.
Although she is motivated by her faith, particularly the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, Scott-Huffman noted that The Pantry's goal won't be religion.
It will be hospitality.
"We want it to be a welcoming place," Scott-Huffman said. "It's about taking care of each other, about human interaction and community."
And the future service also will bring dignity and confidence to those preparing meals for their families, Ward said.
"If things aren't going well, fixing a meal can be a huge self-esteem boost," Ward said. "You can sit down and think, "Look at what I made for you with my own hands.'
"It makes you feel like something is going right."
The nutritional recipes with five ingredients or fewer come from the kitchens of Scott-Huffman and Ward.
"What I do is not hard," said Ward, who has two toddlers and home schools her older children.
The recipes from The Pantry will be healthier, cheaper, better tasting and take no longer to prepare than pre-packaged, store-bought meals, Ward said.
Beginning dinner recipes will include creamy chicken and noodles, pot pie, white chicken chili, red beans and rice, and chicken rice and vegetables.
Once the pantry side is up and running, Ward's dream is to host companion cooking classes.
"There are fun things you can do, when you learn how to cook a chicken," she said.
Currently, volunteers are collecting donations to not only open the doors but to keep them open long-term, Scott-Huffman said.
She hopes groups and families might hold "flour drives" or "rice drives" to help.
Tax-exempt donations through the website GoFundMe.com have been a good kick-start, too.
"I feel like food is medicine," Scott-Huffman said. "We want to feed people, but also empower them to make better meals."
Table of Grace meets at 3328 Bennett Lane. Call 573-291-3561 for more information.