Representatives of Community Lifeline Center distributed food to more than 46,000 community members in 2023, and the organization is expected to surpass that number in 2024, according to its website.
The big picture
The organization was founded in 1989 and serves a number of cities in north Collin County including McKinney, Prosper, Celina, Melissa, Anna and more, according to its website.
Community Lifeline Center offers food assistance through its market pantry location in McKinney, as well as at mobile distribution sites in McKinney and surrounding areas. Food items include dry goods, meats, produce and more.
Executive Director Michael Schwerin said mobile food distribution sites can serve between 20 to over 120 families at each site, and the pantry sees over 450 guests on average each week.
“Every month, we get more and more families, unfortunately, that need help,” Schwerin said. “The need is just continuing to grow.”
The organization also offers rent assistance for McKinney residents as well as for utility costs for clients of CoServ, Reliant and Atmos, according to its website.
“That's our goal of that program is if we can prevent them from [becoming] homeless, being evicted or having their utilities shut off,” Schwerin said.
Zooming in
The organization’s food pantry is formatted like a grocery store and guests are able to select the food items they would like, which allows the organization to serve more people, Schwerin said.
“We've really focused on removing a lot of barriers to getting food,” he said.
The organization recently expanded the pantry space, adding about 1,000-square-feet of space to the pantry and almost doubling it in size, he said. The expanded space allowed for greater capacity and a better layout of the food pantry.
“This gives us all kind of a much leaner operation ... [to] make sure that we're helping as many families as we can,“ Schwerin said.
However, Schwerin said the need for food assistance has continued to grow and the organization will likely need to expand again in the future. The current size of the pantry will sustain the organization for two to three years, he said, noting that future expansions could take place within the building the organization is currently in.
“We continue to expand to make sure that we're able to ... meet the growing need without having to turn people [away],” Schwerin said.
How to help
The organization accepts donations in a number of ways including donations of cash, cars, stocks or through a will or trust, according to its website.
While the organization receives a majority of the food it distributes from the North Texas Food Bank, the remainder is supplemented by donations. The organization accepts unopened food and hygiene items, including:
- Cereal
- Canned fruit
- Peanut butter
- Rice
- Deodorant
- Toothpaste
Quote of note
“Our whole goal is to make our communities self-sufficient so ... we can be there in the time of their most need and get them back on their feet ... in their most vulnerable time,” Schwerin said.
- 1601 N. Waddill St., Ste. 102, McKinney
- www.communitylifeline.org
