Helping hands

Blessing Barn, Sharing Shack are popular spots

By Theo Tate
Posted 9/17/21

After just two years, the Sharing Shack in Montgomery City and the Blessing Barn in Jonesburg have been popular spots in Montgomery County.

Area residents have stored dry goods, canned goods, …

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Helping hands

Blessing Barn, Sharing Shack are popular spots

Posted

After just two years, the Sharing Shack in Montgomery City and the Blessing Barn in Jonesburg have been popular spots in Montgomery County.


Area residents have stored dry goods, canned goods, personal care items and household items in both custom-made food pantries that are 15 miles from each other. The Sharing Shack is located in the parking lot at Montgomery City Christian Church, while the Blessing Barn is next to Jonesburg City Hall.


“I think it’s wonderful,” said Jonesburg resident Nick Hellebusch, who built the Blessing Barn. “After we built the one in Jonesburg, two of the people in Montgomery City saw it and they liked the idea. They carried it on.”


One of those people is Ross Iles. He decided to build the Sharing Shack after finding a picture of a real-life shack.


“It rhymes and everything,” Iles said. “What I did was I shared the picture of the Blessing Barn on the Montgomery County page on Facebook and I said, ‘Hey, if we built one of these in town, where would it be put?’ A lot of people started talking. So we were like, ‘OK, what would we make it look like?’ We didn’t want to copy it completely, but we wanted to do the same thing and make it our own. That’s how we came up with Sharing Shack because it rhymes just like the Blessing Barn.”


Hellebusch said he hopes the additions of both the Sharing Shack and Blessing Barn will inspire more communities in the county to build food pantries.


“It works for both people, the givers and the people in need,” Hellebusch said. “It’s a blessing for everybody.”


Hellebusch, who has been a county resident since 1989, said he came up with the idea of building the Blessing Barn while living in Washington, Mo.


“In Washington, they have several of those around town,” Hellebusch said. “I was used to putting stuff in them when I lived there. When I came up here, I thought it would be a great idea because so many people used it there. I thought it would be a great idea to bring it up here and put it in the community here and let them take advantage of it like they did in Washington.”


Hellebusch said his Blessing Barn project was approved by Jonesburg Mayor Bob Sellenriek.
“He thought it was the greatest idea,” Hellebusch said. “He said, ‘Nick, you know what, I want that right in front of city hall. He said I want you to put it right there where everybody can see it.’”


Now, Hellebusch is making plans on building another food pantry in Jonesburg.


“I probably would talk to St. Patrick’s Church and put one there because it’s more along the interstate for people traveling,” Hellebusch said. “I thought that maybe a good place for a second location if St. Pat’s allows us to do that. My plan is to see if next year they’ll allow us to put one up there.”


Iles is working on adding another food pantry in Montgomery City.


“We already talked about doing another one here in town because (the Sharing Shack) gets used a lot,” Iles said. “If I had known how well it was going to work, then we could have built it a little bigger. There are a lot of people who have to take their stuff home sometimes and come back later.”


Iles said he first thought about building the Sharing Shack after he moved to Montgomery City in 2015.


“I decided at one point that I was going to try to do anything within my means to help people,” Iles said. “As long as it’s not putting me out too much, I was going to do it. I’m not worried about who they are and what they look like. I decided that I was going to do that. Every now and then, I’m always looking for stuff like that.”


Iles received items from Brandkamp Cabinets and Montgomery Hardware & Home Center to help him build the Sharing Shack.


“What I like about the community is when they see what’s happening, everybody is willing to pitch in and help out,” Iles said. “It’s a great community. I love my little neighborhood.”

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