Volunteer Highlight: God’s Faithfulness to Your Yes
June 29, 2026
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Dan and Judy Figueroa are two names you would likely recognize when hearing about the Walnut Hill Community Church Food Pantry. Since the ministry's beginning, they have faithfully served—rain or shine—sharing the hope of Christ with everyone who comes to the pantry. On average, a volunteer who serves twice a month contributes about 72 hours annually. Dan and Judy, however, have each dedicated more than 350 hours in a single year alone.
Their hearts are centered on building relationships with anyone willing to come and visit. Judy shared, “The Bible instructs us to GO and spread the Good News, making disciples of the whole world. We don’t need to go any further than the WHCC parking lot – God is bringing them to our doorstep.”
Over the years, they have witnessed countless examples of God's provision. One story they shared involved a food pantry volunteer who was delivering food to a neighbor. As the neighbor unpacked the bag, she began to cry. She had been going through a difficult season and had challenged God that very morning that if He was real and cared for her, He would provide a way for her to make pancakes for her children. In this seemingly "random" food pantry bag were all the ingredients needed to make pancakes. Judy reflected, “God hears and provides!” Amen!
Dan summarized their experience with the pantry by saying:
“Over the last 10 years God has spoken to our hearts ensuring us that He would provide the volunteers, food and funding needed for the food pantry to advance His message beyond the scope of food distribution. By creating an atmosphere for the WHCC congregation to strengthen their relationships with each other, the surrounding community and God, we have been able to provide food to unimaginable numbers of families. The volunteers span all age ranges, backgrounds, community sectors and capabilities. No job is too big for the volunteer family to conquer or too small for God to magnify. A wonderful blessing of God’s grace and affirmation of the ministry is that one of our first community volunteers from 2020 was baptized this past Easter.”
Today, Dan helps oversee the main distribution at our Bethel Campus, leading food distribution logistics and setup and teardown while supporting both our Bethel and Derby campuses. Judy is skilled at acquiring food for our pantry and helps manage volunteers during distribution at our Bethel Campus. Their unwavering commitment to sharing the light of Christ while serving those experiencing food insecurity continues to inspire all who serve alongside them. We thank God for Dan and Judy and for the countless hours they have faithfully poured into this ministry.
Food Pantry Partnerships: Widespread Impact
June 22, 2026
The Walnut Hill Community Food Pantry simply cannot operate without the dedication and faithfulness of its volunteers. From corporations, local schools, our Special Needs community, church ministries, even local politicians, we are grateful for the local community coming together and working to serve these families in need.
In particular, the Union Savings Bank and Union Savings Bank Foundation have been staples at the pantry since its infancy. Staff from Union Savings Bank began volunteering in 2016 through United Way, supporting the Connecticut Food Bank Mobile Pantry during the cold winter months when distributions were held in the church parking lot. Since then, they have continued to support the pantry financially as well as consistently volunteer and contribute their time in meaningful ways. From sweating in the summer heat, flipping around stop signs, passing waters out to clients, they have committed to serving their local community through the food pantry. In 2018, they sponsored blood pressure screenings and have since ran several baby food drives for families in need. Director of Community Relations, Michele Bonvicini, stated, “It’s who we are, it’s what we do – we do it because we have a responsibility to our neighbors to make a difference.” They are dedicated to serving every person in line and often walk away feeling blessed themselves.
Other outstanding partners, Ives Bank, formally known as Savings Bank of Danbury, and Savings Bank of Danbury Foundation have committed to supporting our food pantry for several years. Staff member and volunteer, Fernando Henriques, shared, “What impacted me most about the pantry was seeing how many people quietly rely on community support. It made me appreciate the importance of compassion, community, and small acts of service, and it reinforced how meaningful it can be to help others in a practical way. I keep returning because I’ve seen the impact the pantry has on people. Knowing that my time and effort can help others, even in a small way, makes the experience meaningful and rewarding.” When asked if there was one memorable moment from his time at the pantry he answered, “A memorable experience for me wasn’t one single moment, but seeing familiar faces return over time and building a sense of connection. It made me realize that the pantry isn’t just about food, it’s about community and being there for people when they need support.” Ives Bank recognizes the need that exists in our community and has stepped up in many ways including financial and volunteer support to help make a difference. We are grateful for their partnership.
Food Pantry Testimony: The Power of Team
June 15, 2026
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Did you know we have a second pantry location at our Valley Campus? We have served 150 families every 3rd Wednesday since the pandemic and are grateful for local partners who have helped us develop this pantry. Check out this testimony from one of our most long standing partners in Derby:
“My name is Ryan Leworthy and I am the District Operations Director for both the Valley YMCA and Woodruff Family YMCA in Milford. We first got involved with Walnut Hill Community Church and their pantry efforts all the way back in the aftermath of COVID. I had known Pastor Joshua for some time as we is a member of the YMCA. We formed a friendly relationship. I think both our organizations realized food insecurity was a real issue in our communities. Walnut Hill made great strides to make sure they can have an active and robust pantry along with monthly food distributions which are still going strong. I had reached out to Joshua and offered a helping hand with the distributions. We knew we could gather volunteer groups big or small each month to help give out the food that Walnut Hill was providing.
Each month, our YMCA volunteer groups look forward to those distribution nights as we love to support our organization neighbors and serve our community. The gratitude we get from the families that leaves a lasting impact. There is no story that stands out but the ‘thank you’s’ each month and small conversations forever stick with the staff and volunteers at the YMCA. We hope to continue as much as we can for as long as we can.”
Food Pantry Testimony: More Than a Meal
June 8, 2026
Mirtes (“Mia”) Anagao has been a part of the Walnut Hill Community Church Food Pantry community since the pandemic began in 2020. While waiting in her car to receive food during one of her early visits, she was approached by a member of the Evangelism Team. After spending time praying together, Mia was invited to attend a church service. She began attending the Sunday a.m. service and quickly fell in love with the church community. Today, her teenage daughter also attends Walnut Hill and is actively involved in the Youth Ministry.
Three years ago, Mia began volunteering at the pantry after realizing she wanted to do more than simply receive assistance each week. Since then, serving has become a meaningful part of her life and faith journey. The pantry has impacted her not only through the provision of food, but also through the lasting spiritual impact on her family, especially seeing her daughter develop a relationship with Jesus. Mia now faithfully serves as a pantry volunteer and continues to be deeply blessed by the experience.
Mia is one of the many examples of how families experiencing food insecurity have been touched by the light of Jesus Christ. The Walnut Hill Community Church Food Pantry is blessed to be able to not only serve physical food to families, but invite them to meet and be transformed by Jesus Himself.
Celebrating 10 Years of God's Faithfulness Through 10 Years of Food Pantry
June 1, 2026
It was a decade ago when the first Connecticut Food Bank mobile truck entered the Walnut Hill Community Church Bethel campus parking lot in January 2016. The United Way who managed the distribution had first reached out to our church due to the size of our parking lot. It provided the space needed to open their mobile food pantry to the public. There, families struggling with food insecurity in the Greater Danbury area were finally able to access healthy food. Little did we know this would be the birth of the Walnut Hill Community Food Pantry…
Soon after the first pantry, Pastor John Dischinger from Walnut Hill, began to coordinate recurring pantries inviting United Way to serve these families once a week.
Quite quickly, other church ministries began to get involved. The Kids Ministry at Walnut Hill hosted childcare for families to relax and be served. The church established a blood pressure screening station staffed by medical professionals from Walnut Hill, helping identify clients who were at risk and referred for immediate medical intervention. Amazingly this simple mobile pantry soon turned into a church mission.
In the fall of 2019, with more and more families coming, Walnut Hill took on the management of client contact and food distribution from CT Food Bank and United Way. The operation had moved back out to the parking lot but now as a machine of its own. Under the leadership of Pastor John Dischinger and Café Coordinator, Lori Turco, produce, bread/bakery, frozen, and dry goods all became staples to hand out to families, with 150 families being served within one hour.
It was as if God was preparing the pantry for the Covid outbreak in 2020. With this model, the pantry was able to serve 430 families in desperate need of food weekly March-June thanks to the dedication of corporate donors, faithful volunteers, and God’s provision in resources.
The pantry continued to grow extending out to New Milford for a season, and also out to Derby which continues to run on the 3rd Wednesday of every month serving about 150 families monthly. The Bethel pantry reached its highest number of families ever served in a single night on March 27, 2024 with 1,039 families served. That’s 3,273 individuals total!
The Walnut Hill Community Church Food Pantry seeks to share the love of Jesus with those experiencing food insecurity in the Greater Danbury area. With the support of more than 45 partners and 665 volunteers, we have distributed more than 3.9 million pounds of food, serving over 7,600 families in our local community. Praise God!
As we look back on 10 years of Food Pantry history, we are grateful to God for how He has used and grown this ministry. Be on the lookout every Monday for the month of June for more stories like these!
