For decades, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Cartersville was known for its faith in action, from a commitment to social justice to the iconic red door welcoming everyone in. Tucked inside the back of the church, a small outreach ministry handed out non-perishable staples from a storage closet to a few dozen families each week.
Today, that mustard seed has grown into a vital lifeline for thousands. Now operating out of a converted elementary school kitchen and two rooms at the church, Red Door Food Pantry uses state-of-the-art digital tools to help distribute 335,000 pounds of food in 2025 alone, nourishing more than 10,400 households—nearly 30,000 neighbors across Bartow County and Northwest Georgia.
The dramatic expansion still relies on a steady, simple core mission: serve compassionately and love like Jesus.
“What seemed like small, ordinary acts have blossomed into something extraordinary,” said the Rev. Alex Dyer, rector at Church of the Ascension and former pantry board member. “It stands as a beautiful testament to God’s boundless love at work among us.”
Boom in Local Need
The pantry represents the long tradition of outreach at Ascension, which helped found Bartow’s Habitat for Humanity and HIV/AIDS ministries. Worship on the present sanctuary grounds dates to Easter 1874, and the land itself holds a relevant heritage. A millennium ago, indigenous leaders along the Etowah River used the area as a central site for storing and distributing food to neighbors in need.
Bartow County’s population grew by over 14 percent between 2010 and 2023, reaching over 111,000 residents. While overall poverty rates have fluctuated, thousands of local residents continue to face economic strain.
About 10 percent of the population live below the poverty line, and so do 12 percent of children under 18. More than 40 percent of renters in Bartow County are housing cost-burdened, spending at least 30 percent of their income on housing alone.
For many families working to keep up with rising living costs, food security is a constant pressure. Roughly 95 percent of the households served by the Red Door Food Pantry live in Bartow County while the remaining 5 percent come from neighboring counties across Northwest Georgia facing similar needs.
Before the expansion, the pantry served through years of quiet dedication by parish members and friends. Longtime volunteers Nancy Haight and Karen Tindall—alongside Karen’s son, Jeff Tindall, and daughter-in-law, Tiffany Tindall—kept the ministry going from the storage closet days.
They helped move from buying retail groceries to partnering with the Atlanta Community Food Bank in 2013, stretching every dollar to meet rising hunger in Bartow. Joining the food bank involved committed research, training, and paperwork, and the Tindalls made that happen. By becoming one of the food bank’s 700 partner agencies and direct community food centers, Red Door Pantry had a much more economical pipeline of wholesale food, fresh produce, and grocery items.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, bringing unprecedented lines of families to Ascension’s parking lot, the team refused to close. They adopted streamlined tracking software, organized drive-through distributions, and coped through supply shortages. Their operation attracted a visit from US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
Realizing that the growing need required a long-term foundation, the volunteer team helped establish the pantry as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit with its own board of directors, paving the way for an executive director and staff.
Dyer pointed out that as a 501c3, Red Door can pursue grants that religious organizations cannot apply for. “Red Door is not a religious organization anymore, though their mission is rooted in the history and values of Church of the Ascension,” he said. “Ascension now considers Red Door a ministry we participate in, rather than just our ministry.”
Newcomers Bring Corporate Skills
The pantry’s major turning point came in July 2024 with the arrival of Ashley Davis as executive director. Ashley and her husband, Sean, had recently decided to leave corporate careers in California to seek a deeper sense of community and purpose in Georgia.
Walking into Church of the Ascension, they immediately found a spiritual home. Days later, Ashley applied to lead the pantry.
Bringing organizational expertise, vision, and high energy, Ashley helped relocate pantry storage to a 3,100-square-foot former school cafeteria kitchen leased from Cartersville City Schools. With walk-in freezers, pallet jacks, and a forklift certification, Ashley expanded operations to accept fresh produce donations—including regular deliveries from a local farmer—and scaled up mobile outreach.
“Food insecurity affects everybody—working families, grandparents raising grandchildren, people who just lost a job,” she said. “Every two weeks when they come, it feels like a family reunion. They know our story, we know theirs, and they know they are seen.”
Using a refrigerated truck funded in part by a $30,000 grant from the Episcopal Community Foundation of Middle and North Georgia, the pantry now runs drive-thru mobile distributions in surrounding areas, bringing food to neighborhoods where public transit or grocery stores are sparse.
When the pantry accepted the 2017 grant, it made a ten-year commitment to provide resources, education, and information to the Allatoona community in south Bartow County (32% living below poverty level). To do that, Red Door partnered with BLESS (a faith-based volunteer organization in Cartersville) and the Allatoona Resource Center (an organization managed by Bartow County government).
Serving the Whole Person with Dignity
Beyond numbers and logistics, Ashley and Sean emphasize that food security relies on human connection, dignity, and spiritual growth.
The pantry uses digital “Pantry Passes” and QR codes so families can register privately from home rather than waiting outside in long lines. On distribution days, Ashley partners with community organizations to offer holistic care on-site—connecting patrons with mental health support, recovery resources, housing assistance, and free children’s books.
Red Door also partners with local justice initiatives like WRAP (Workforce Re-entry Assistance Program), inviting individuals re-entering the community from incarceration to assist with warehouse operations and restocking.
Red Door “is not just a place of need; it’s a place of care and dignity,” Ashley said.
And a place of abundance.
“Put your faith in the idea that something greater than you is on the way,” Sean added. “When you let go of control and put faith in God, things work out exactly as they were supposed to.”
Humbling and Rewarding Legacy
Red Door remains tethered to the red doors of Ascension where it all began. The parish has shown how a long commitment to social justice can adapt, innovate, and thrive to meet the demands of a changing county. To serve people who never expected to need free food.
“We have cancer patients who can’t work, and they have teenage kids… when we just hear their stories, they’re not numbers, they’re individuals,” Tindall said. “Somebody shows up, and they’re nicely dressed, and they will say, ‘I never in my wildest dreams thought I would need a food pantry.’ It can be very humbling at the same time as it is very rewarding.”
Haight agreed: “There’s that old saying: to those who are given much, much is expected. I sometimes say I get more out of it than I put into it, because it certainly made me more aware of different economics and how difficult life can really be for the disenfranchised. It certainly has centered my prayers and probably made me a more aware Christian.”
Bishop Rob Wright affirmed that point during a For People podcast with the Davises: Taking up the work of compassion creates a double blessing.
“When we give out food or compassion, it bounces back to us, and we feel a new buoyancy, clarity, and gratitude,” he said. “Jesus was a local phenomenon in a local neighborhood, including people and helping them understand that God is real and God is near.”
To donate or volunteer, visit reddoorfood.com. You can give online, sign up for volunteer shifts, or learn about upcoming mobile distributions.