About six months ago, the thought came across Gary Dyer’s mind that it may be time to discontinue the food pantry he founded at Seymour Harvest Church.

The associate pastor at the church said the work had become difficult, and he was beginning to feel overwhelmed for the first time since he founded I Care Ministries in 1993.

He toyed with the notion for some time but kept driving to New Albany to pick up donations from a food bank, stocked the pantry’s shelves, ran administrative operations and, of course, opened the doors each week to families in need.

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The pantry is based in the bottom floor of the church, 414 N. Chestnut St., Seymour.

Just when he thought he was going to give up the ministry that has been close to his heart all of these years, his youngest son, Farron, and daughter-in-law, Raven, approached him and said they wanted to take over the ministry.

“We were both amazed and thrilled,” Gary said of he and his wife’s reaction. “I thought my kids would take it over, but then all my kids got married, got jobs and moved to different areas.”

Farron and Raven will now organize the food, schedule the appointments for patrons to get food, track everything given and arrange things as needed.

Gary will still have a hand in the ministry, picking up food each week in New Albany, but the couple will take care of other operations for the pantry.

“It was difficult being a one-man band,” Gary said.

Gary said he can already see their footprint on the pantry, and they have made improvements quickly over the last month.

“They rearranged it to make it more like a grocery store, and it flows so much better,” he said.

All of the information that was tracked by hard copy files throughout the years has now been converted to electronic files on a computer, making things easier to search and track.

It also makes it easier if the federal government comes in for an audit.

“Used to, it would be that my dad would hand them a paper file,” Farron said. “Now, everything is searchable and can be gone through on the computer.”

Farron and Raven took the food pantry over in March, and Farron said the work has been rewarding.

“I feel this was something I was called to do,” he said.

He shared an example of a woman who was in desperate need following financial hardship and an electrical fire. He said the woman told him she would not have had anything if it wasn’t for the ministry that day.

“When you give something like that to someone and the person receiving it gives you a heartfelt thank you like she did, it’s truly special,” Farron said.

He said he feels the work also has brought him and his wife closer together as they work side by side to help people in need.

“I’ve noticed since we’ve taken it over, being newlyweds, it’s drawn us even closer together,” he said. “This is something we both enjoy doing.”

The pantry is coming off of a recent successful food donation drive where a Crothersville tattoo artist traded food donations for tattoos.

Kyle McIntosh, tattoo artist and owner of Beauty from Ashes Tattoo Parlor in Crothersville, accepted canned goods and other nonperishable food items in exchange for tattoos April 9.

He set a minimum of 60 food items, and he and a few other tattoo artists worked until 2 a.m. completing tattoos for the donations.

That was enough to collect 11,900 canned food items and fill a box truck of food.

“It was a real surprise to see this much food,” Farron said.

Seeing everyone turn out and help the pantry was something Farron was not expecting.

“It was overwhelming,” he said. “We just now opened a little storage room by the pantry, and I’m glad we did because we wouldn’t have had room for it all. We’re still counting through everything else, and that 11,000 number does not include macaroni and cheese and other items, just the cans.”

McIntosh said it felt good to use his talent to help people in need.

“The least I can do is take this talent God has given me and use it to better other people’s lives,” he said. “Tattooing or art in general has never been about getting rich. Yeah, worldly speaking, I’m losing a ton of money, but it’s not my money anyway. It’s God’s money. He just provides it when I need it.”

Now, as the new generation of Dyers takes over the food pantry, they want to branch out farther than helping families in Seymour.

The pantry primarily helps people in Seymour but wants to reach out to other communities. Farron also hopes he can receive donations from more businesses and individuals.

As Gary handed over the reins, he couldn’t help but reminisce about how it all began.

His friend, Seymour Police Officer Tim Toborg, gave him a deep freezer one day in 1993.

Gary wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it when the late John Livingston, who founded Community Provisions of Jackson County in 1987 with his late wife, Pat, drove by and asked what he was doing.

“He asked if I had plans for it, and I told him I didn’t,” Gary said. “He said, ‘I’ll have it filled tomorrow morning,’ and he did.”

With that in mind, he hopes the pantry will continue for a long time.

“Maybe after I’m gone, they’ll still keep it going,” Gary said.

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How to make donations to I Care Ministries at Seymour Harvest Church:

The church accepts nonperishable food items and personal hygiene products from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 414 N. Chestnut St., Seymour. Call the church first at 812-522-3918.

To receive items from the pantry, patrons must call the church at 812-522-3918 to set up an appointment prior to their visit and bring their identification.

Appointments are made for the pantry’s hours from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays.

Patrons are allowed one visit per month.

History:

I Care Ministries was founded by Gary Dyer in 1993.

The pantry serves between 12 and 14 families per week.

Farron and Raven Dyer took over operations in March 2018.

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