SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) — On Phoenix Street in South Haven, the First Congregational Church food pantry has become a lifeline for thousands of families.

Volunteer Don Kitchin has been there for a decade. He’s watched the need rise year after year.

“When I started 10 years ago, we thought 15 families a day was a lot of people. We’re up to sometimes up to 80 families a day,” Kitchin said.

So far this year, the pantry has already served 4,653 families — about 100 more than the same time last year.

Kitchin said the people who walk through the doors each week aren’t strangers or merely clients.

“We’re basically neighbors helping neighbors,” he said.

Many are families he’s come to know personally.

“We see a lot of the same families. So we know when people have surgeries, I know when people have birthdays. I know when people have anniversaries, and I know when (someone says), ‘My granddaughter’s going to college, you know?’ So I get to know the people pretty well,” he said.

The pantry is one of the few in the area open weekly. That makes consistency especially important for the families it helps.

“We do a lot of good for the community,” Kitchin said. “We deal with six different zip codes.”

Donations from local food drives, including this week’s WOOD TV8 Football Frenzy Tailgate at South Haven High School, help keep shelves stocked. For Kitchin, the impact is clear: single parents, grandparents raising grandkids, veterans, even a 103-year-old who comes with her husband every week. Some recipients have even returned later to donate, saying they wanted to give back after the pantry once helped them. And while the numbers keep climbing, Kitchin said the mission stays the same: helping neighbors feed neighbors.