By RUTH STANLEY
Managing editor
For 20 years, Susan Butcher has helped keep food on the table for  South Whitley area residents.
As director of the South Whitley food pantry for 20 years, since its inception in 1988,  Butcher has helped many families by delivering a week’s worth of groceries, including pet food, to families in need.
As Butcher celebrates her 20th anniversary as the director, local businesses are in the midst of a collection competition to gather food, staples and nonperishable items to stock the pantry.
South Whitley’s three largest employers, Shindigz/Stumps, Fox Products and  Whitley Manufacturing have challenged each other to see which company can collect the most. Several in-house, interdepartmental challenges are also being conducted to spur donations. The company that donates the most will receive a plaque and bragging rights.
The public is also invited to participate in filling the pantry by dropping off donations from 3 to 7 p.m. on April 1 at the Cleveland Township fire station. Anyone who wishes to donate but is unable to get to the fire station during the drive, may call 723-6204 for pickup.
Butcher’s role with the food pantry started when the Collamer Church of God saw a need for a local food pantry. The church dedicated a space in a classroom to store food, but soon outgrew the classroom. The church moved the pantry to its fellowship hall. In the late ’90s the pantry moved to its location on Market St. in South Whitley where it resides today.
 Butcher has volunteered her services to oversee the food pantry partly because she remembers a time when she too needed help providing food for her family, and now sees her involvement as a way of giving back.
Butcher says the South Whitley community has always been very supportive of its food bank and, in addition to regular donations, answers the call when emergencies arrive or when supplies run low.
She tries to keep food waste to a minimum by assembling the food boxes herself and delivering them. She takes into account any special food needs that a family may have when assembling the boxes.