About eighty per cent of our income is from individual donors. People like knowing their donations are getting directly to people in need. The other twenty percent comes from local foundations or government grants. Last year Jackson County gave us $27,000 and Missouri Housing Trust Fund gave us $75,000 toward our emergency assistance program.

How many people do you help?

Our two food pantries now serve over 1,300 families each month. Our Community Kitchen serves about 280 hungry people each night, 5 nights a week. We help, on average each month, 150 families with rent and utility bills, totaling well over $25,000 each month.  We place about 30 people a month in jobs.  In 2010 we had the following results:

• We provided emergency assistance to 1,846 families totaling over $330,000. 
• We helped 384 people find employment in our Jobs Program
• From our 2 pantries, we provided monthly grocery help to an average of 1121 households each month - Click here for FAQs about the St. James Place Food Pantry.
• We served 51,690 evening meals in our Community Kitchen - Click here for FAQs for the Community Kitchen.   

How big is your staff?

We have 16 full-time and 1 part-time employee.

How do you qualify people for emergency assistance?

In order to insure that we are helping households with a true need, we ask the client to fill out a Pre-Qualification Form and then a Household Grant Application.  We review these applications and invite qualified clients to make an appointment with a counselor.   After we have verified the information and had a counseling session with the client, we write a check directly to the utility or landlord.

Do you take donations of clothes, furniture or appliances?

Yes and no. Our building is small; consequently we do not have much storage space. It is best to call before bringing something to us.

Do you have volunteer opportunities?

Yes. The best volunteer opportunities are in one of our Food Pantries.  Other opportunities are available on our Volunteer Page.   In addition, you can serve a meal by sponsoring a night in our Community Kitchen.