Our Story

Who we are:

Love Thy Neighbor Ministries is a community outreach group, driven by love and compassion, with the mission and purpose of helping people who are experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, and other challenges. 

Love Thy Neighbor has three components: The Street Ministry, the Food Pantry, and the Room of Hope. 

• The Street Ministry delivers food, supplies, encouragement, and hope to individuals in Keene every Thursday.

• The Food Pantry, located at the Village Church in West Swanzey, is open to the public Fridays from noon to 3 PM; everyone is welcome. 

• The Room of Hope, also housed in the Village Church, is stocked with donated household items, FREE for people who are getting back on their feet.

Love Thy Neighbor has no paid staff and operates strictly on donations, volunteers, and community support.

How we began:

It all began with Christine Wiseman, who lived in an apartment complex in Keene, where she often fed hungry neighborhood children.  When she was called to care for the homeless, she and a few friends got together and formed Love Thy Neighbor.  They packed a wagon with a dozen or so bagged lunches and brought them to the streets of downtown Keene.  Along with the lunches, they brought socks, blankets, coats, sleeping bags, and other supplies.

This became the Street Ministry, which began in 2018. Christine passed away in 2020.  Love Thy Neighbor has carried on in her memory, expanded its services, and flourished.

The Room of Hope began as one woman's dream to bless those who were in need of home furnishings and supplies -- people just coming off the streets into their own home, or perhaps those who were making a fresh start.  After Christine passed, that dream became a reality with items from her home, as well as donations from others.

How we have grown:

The Street Ministry has grown to delivering well over 150 bagged lunches (and growing), plus food, hygiene items and other supplies each week.  The volunteers have formed connections with the people we serve, who look forward to the weekly visits. 

The Room of Hope has evolved into a well-stocked, free "thrift shop" with all sorts of gently used, pre-loved items.  The shelves are well-organized and stocked with everything from kitchen items to linens, home furnishings and decor, small furniture, and even puzzles and games.

We became a partner agency with the New Hampshire Food Bank in late 2022 to help supplement the food donations for the bagged lunch program.  From this, the Food Pantry was born, filling a need that was left when Gert’s Pantry, also run out of a West Swanzey church, closed. 

The pantry serves 25-30 families each week, representing 75-100 individuals. Non-perishable food items such as canned goods, tuna fish, soup, vegetables, and snacks are available as well as meats, eggs, bread, produce, and frozen items. The pantry even has dog and cat food and personal care items. The inventory varies from week to week depending on donations.

Love Thy Neighbor has partnered with other agencies such as the Keene Serenity Center, Hundred Nights, Monadnock Peer Support, The Keene Community Kitchen, and other area churches.

Transporting food presented a challenge.  Some New Hampshire Food Bank orders are over 1,500 pounds.  One volunteer was using her own van, but it was insufficient for the task. Recently, Love Thy Neighbor purchased a used van, thanks to generous donations from local businesses and individuals.