The Red Door Food Pantry with Ashley and Sean Davis

Food Insecurity Affects Every Family

Ashley
0:00

I

think

what's

interesting

about

food

banks

is

the

misconception

that

you

do

think

that

people

that

are

the

low

poverty

in

that

have

a

need,

and

that's

who

they're

coming

to

receive

help.

But

the

people

that

come,

they're

different

stories,

um,

they're

different

types

of

families,

and

I

think

that

that's

really

important

to

understand

that

food

insecurity

affects

everybody.

Um,

it

could

be

just

you've

lost

your

job

and

you

need

assistance

for

that

time.

Bishop Wright
0:39

Hello

everyone,

this

is

Bishop

Rob

Wright,

and

this

is

for

people.

Uh

today

we

have

a

real

treat.

Uh,

we

have

uh

two

members

of

one

of

our

wonderful

congregations

in

Cartersville,

Georgia,

uh

Ashley

and

Sean

Davis.

Uh

folks,

welcome.

I'm

so

glad

that

you

could

make

time

to

be

with

us.

I

I

bumped

into

these

two

folks

at

one

of

my

regular

Sunday

visits

in

one

of

our

congregations,

again,

Ascension

Cartersville

up

in

North

Georgia.

And

uh,

you

know,

one

of

the

great

gifts

of

the

doing

the

work

that

I

do

is

you

bump

into

people

who

are

actually

doing

the

work

of

the

gospel

where

they

find

themselves.

And

uh,

and

so

I

wanted

to

have

Ashley

and

Sean

on

to

talk

a

little

bit

about

a

ministry

that

they're

engaged

in

called

the

Red

Door

Food

Pantry

and

all

the

families

that

they're

serving.

But

first,

what

really

intrigued

me

uh

guys

was

your

story.

So

you're

not

native

to

Georgia,

you

moved

from

across

the

country

uh

to

this

town.

So

tell

me

a

little

bit

about that Ashley.

Leaving Corporate Life After Surgery

Bishop Wright
1:40

Ashley
1:41

Um

yes,

um,

well,

in

2023,

um

I

was

um

kind

of

hit

with

a

health

um

issue

where

um

I

had

to

take

time

off

of

work

and

ultimately

have

a

major

surgery.

Um

during

that

time,

I

worked

in

finance.

So

I

worked

in

a

big

bank

and

worked

in

corporate

banking.

Um,

so

of

course,

I

as

I

moved

up

in

the

world,

it

was

getting

harder

and

harder

to

help

people

that

really

needed

help.

Um,

so

it

was

always

that

kind

of

that

fork

in

the

road

for

me.

So

during

the

time

of

me

healing

and

taking

that

time,

um,

I

kind

of

hit

that

fork

in

the

road

where

I

needed

to

make

that

decision

of

whether

or

not

it

was

the

right

decision

to

move

on

or

move

forward.

Um,

so

when

I

went

to

work,

I

went

to

work

too

soon.

And

I

just

remember

going

back

into

my

office

and

then

talking

to

me

about

my

next

role

and

the

next

path

that

they

had

in

store

for

me.

But

the

walls

just

got

smaller

and

smaller.

So

I

texted

Sean

and

said,

I'm

I'm

done.

I

don't

think

I

want

to

do

this

anymore.

So

when

I

got

home,

we

talked

about

it.

And

the

first

thing

was

is

let's

pray,

let's

talk

about

it.

And

then

really,

if

it

works,

let's

put

our

house

up

for

the

market

and

see

if

that

actually

does,

if

we

get

a

bite,

and

then

we'll

go

from

there.

Well,

we

reached

out

to

a

realtor

who

um

has

been

interested

in

selling

our

house

for

quite

some

time.

Um,

so

we

did

talk

to

him

and

explain

kind

of

the

situation

that

we

were

in,

which

was

kind

of

unique

because

we

didn't

know

where

we

wanted

to

go

or

what

we

were

gonna

do,

but

we

were

ready

to

leave

California.

And

um,

we

ended

up

putting

our

house

on

the

market.

We

didn't

really

tell

many

people,

um,

and

it

sold

in

two

that

day,

sold

in

two

days,

really.

Um

and

so

then

we

were

kind

of

stuck

with

the

situation

of

what

are

we

gonna

do

now?

Bishop Wright
3:57

So,

how

do

you

end

up

in

Cartersville,

Georgia?

So,

you

know,

we

we

prayed,

we

made

a

decision,

and

and

here

we

go.

And

so

Cartersville

uh

is

very

far

away

from

California.

So

how

do

we

get

there?

Sean,

how

do

we

get

there?

Sean
4:12

Well,

uh

when

we

thought

about

where

we

wanted

to

take

our

journey,

we

had

a

bunch

of

different

factors

that

we

wanted

to

consider.

So

some

of

those

were

uh

socioeconomic,

some

of

those

were

demographic,

and

uh

we

had

a

couple

Moving To Cartersville For Community

Sean
4:30

acquaintances

that

lived

uh

here

uh

near

Cartersville,

and

they

said,

you

know,

we

really

think

that

you

would

enjoy

um

the

area,

and

we

think

that

it

would

fit

your

needs.

And

so

uh,

you

know,

we

were

looking

for

um

just

some

of

these

basic

things

to

be

fulfilled,

uh

basic

desires.

Uh

we

one

of

the

big

things

we

wanted

was

this

idea

of

moving

away

from

um

sort

of

being

anonymous

within

our

uh

local

environment

to

really

being

able

to

infiltrate

the

environment

uh

more

and

make

a

bigger

impact

on

the

community.

So

um

as

we

looked

at

everything

that

Cartersville

had

to

offer,

it

seemed

like

uh

it

had

most

of

the

right

pieces.

And

when

we

came

here,

we

really

saw

that

you

know

this

is

the

type

of

community

that

we

want

to

be

involved

in.

We

want

to

be

able

to

know

who

our

neighbors

are

and

you

know

be

active

uh

in

different

aspects

of

the

community

that

it

they

were

just

harder

to

do

in

California.

Uh

there

was

sort

of

a

little

bit

more

of

a

disconnect

in

California

between

that

personal

life

and

your

small

family

units

versus

the

larger

community

and

the

impact

that

you

make

there.

Bishop Wright
6:01

Yeah.

Yeah.

And

so

you

you

you

you

turn

up

in

Cartersville

and

then

you

end

up

in

an

Episcopal

church.

Is

that

right?

Yes.

Okay.

So,

so

I

mean,

did

it

just

feel

right?

I

mean,

uh

the

reason

why

I'm

sort

of

belaboring

this

because

uh

I

think

it's

so

important.

And

when

I

talk

to

people,

you

know,

people

are

on

a

journey.

People

are

on

a

journey

for

meaning,

people

are

on

a

journey

for

community,

um,

you

know,

people

are

trying

to

find

a

spiritual

home.

And

you

guys

found

all

of

that.

Um,

and

so

you

turn

up

to

church,

and

and

how

long

uh

are

you

in

church

before

you

decide

that

this

red

door

pantry,

red

door

food

pantry

work

is

your

work?

Ashley
6:43

Well,

it

was

interesting

because

I

just

remember

having

a

conversation

with

a

friend

of

mine,

and

we

were

talking,

and

she

was

asking

me

why

what

I

wanted

to

do,

because

we

were

I

was

kind

of

trying

to

figure

out

job-wise

what

I

wanted

to

do,

and

I

didn't

really

know

what

to

where

to

go

and

how

to

start,

but

I

know

that

I

wanted

to

be

a

voice

for

people

who

didn't

have

that

voice

for

themselves,

and

I

know

that

it

was

a

bit

of

a

challenge

being

a

new

person

in

a

community

that

didn't

know

who

I

was.

So

um

we

did

hear

about

the

Episcopal

Church.

Um,

at

that

point,

I

only

heard

bits

and

pieces

of

the

pantry,

but

I

had

heard

that

I

needed

to

go

and

um

hear

the

message

because

at

that

point

we

had

no

community,

we

really

had

no

friends.

Um,

it

was

just

a

very

small

group

of

people.

So

we

were

really

trying

to

find

a

community

that

we

belonged

in,

so

we

didn't

know

where

it

was.

And

being

in

the

South,

there's

a

churches

on

every

corner,

and

so

we

didn't

know

even

where

to

start.

Um,

but

we

do

remember

hearing

somebody

say

you

should

go

to

the

Episcopal

Church

and

see

how

that

was.

So

we

walked

in

and

I

had

never

been

in

an

Episcopal

church

before,

neither

had

Sean.

And

um

it

just

felt

right.

I

just

felt

it

did

feel

right.

The

music,

um,

the

message,

it

was

what

it

kind

of

brought

together

why

we

had

come,

the

message.

Um,

so

it

was

kind

of

scratching

that

surface

again

of

why

we

came

revisiting.

And

then

literally

a

couple

of

days

later,

my

friend

reached

out

to

me

and

said,

the

Red

Door

food

pantry

is

hiring

that

you

just

went

to

that

church,

you

should

apply

for

this

position.

And

then

I

did.

And

so

that

was

kind

of

the

whole

thing.

Well,

wow,

here

it

is.

I

was

just

at

this

church.

Um,

it

felt

right.

Um,

it's

out

of

my

comfort

zone.

I've

never

been

an

you

know

executive

director

for

a

food

pantry

before.

Um,

but

I

talked

to

Sean

about

it.

I

we

again

I

prayed

about

it,

and

then

I

applied.

And

then

lo

and

behold,

here

we

are

now.

Bishop Wright
9:09

And

and

what

year

was

this

that

you

uh

that

you

interviewed

and

uh

and

got

the

job

as

the

executive

director?

Ashley
9:16

Um

I

applied

um

in

2024,

Scaling The Red Door Food Pantry

Ashley
9:20

um,

and

I

started

July

1st

of

2024.

Bishop Wright
9:24

Phenomenal.

Okay.

So

now

let's

get

down

the

brass

tack.

So

so

what

is

this

food

pantry?

And

tell

me

about

you

know,

your

your

your

past

is

banking.

So

tell

me

about

the

how

much

the

how

many,

you

know,

what's

what's

measurable

here?

Because

I

was

really

blown

away

that

this

thing

is

on

the

grow.

I

mean,

I'm

sorry

about

that.

We

have

to

have

things

called

food

pantries,

that

there

is

so

much

food

insecurity.

I'm

sorry

about

that,

but

I

give

thanks

to

God

that

there

are

places

like

this

food

pantry

and

food

pantries

and

clothing

banks

and

lots

of

other

things,

resources

for

people

who

are

having

a

hard

time

keeping

body

and

soul

together.

Tell

me

the

the

how

many

and

the

how

much.

Ashley
10:05

So

um

when

I

started

um

the

Red

Door

Food

Pantry,

it

had

started

from

the

ministry

of

the

Episcopal

Church.

Um,

it

has

now

grown

into

its

non-owned

nonprofit.

We

still

um

distribute

out

of

the

Episcopal

Church

um

twice

a

week.

Um,

when

I

first

started

in

um

2024,

we

were

up

to

600

households

each

month.

Um,

we

are

currently

up

to

900

households

currently

at

this

point.

Um

at

the

end

of

2025,

um,

we

well,

the

year

of

2025,

we

saw

a

tremendous

growth

and

a

need

um

within

our

community,

not

only

Cartersville,

um,

but

northwest

Georgia

um

in

itself.

And

from

there,

we

ended

up

distributing

out

335,000

pounds

of

food

in

2025

and

helping

10,407

households,

which

is

about

almost

30,000

people.

Um,

and

95%

of

who

we

are

helping

come

from

Bartow

County.

Um,

the

other

5%

come

from

the

surrounding

counties

um

outside

that

we're

servicing.

Um,

we

are

a

partner

of

the

Atlanta

Community

Food

Bank.

So

something

that

I

do

love

about

that,

and

it

kind

of

brings

back

the

idea

of

the

red

door

is

when

you

sign

up

with

one

pantry,

you

have

access

to

all

of

the

pantries.

Um,

we

have

a

pantry

pass.

So

now

we're

kind

of

utilizing

modern

day

technology

to

really

get

to

those

households

and

get

to

individuals

that

cannot

get

to

the

pantry

physically,

um,

but

get

access

to

food.

Um,

so

for

us,

when

you

sign

up,

you

can

get

food

every

two

weeks.

Um,

so

from

the

time

that

I

started,

we

have

distributed

out

two

days

a

week.

Now

we

go

once

a

month

to

Yoharley.

Um,

we're

getting

ready

to

start

another

mobile

drive-thru

mobile

pantry

that

will

open

the

distribution

to

more

um

members

of

the

community

and

different

aspects

and

different

areas.

Um,

so

the

idea

is

to

get

to

places

that

where

individuals

can't

necessarily

get

access

to

food,

grocery

stores,

general

stores,

things

like

that.

So

we

can

make

it

just

a

little

bit

easier.

And

the

idea

is

not

just

giving

them

access

to

food,

but

also

getting

other

members

of

the

community,

other

organizations

that

have

services

and

give

needs,

you

know,

services

to

individuals

like

mental

health,

homelessness,

um,

health,

um,

general

health

needs,

um,

recovery

uh

for

addiction.

So

we

have,

you

know,

worked

partnerships

with

those

individual

organizations,

and

those

organizations

come

during

distribution

time,

and

then

they

can

give

you

know

services

to

individuals

that

have

a

need

as

well.

Um,

so

we're

really

just

trying

to

make

sure

that

we're

available

when

individuals

have

that

need.

Bishop Wright
13:36

Tell

me,

uh

either

you

or

Sean,

tell

me

some,

tell

me

uh,

you

know,

tell

the

listeners

a

few

stories

about

some

of

the

people

that

you've

encountered.

My

my

guess

is

that

this

is

not

just

sort

of

um,

you

know,

people

trapped

in

cycles

of

poverty,

uh,

although

that

may

represent

some

portion

of

the

people

that

you're

serving.

Uh

this

this

is

also

the

people

who

are

uh

taking

advantage

of

these

resources

are

also

people

who

are

working

uh

perhaps

even

more

than

one

job,

families

trying

to

hold

things

together.

What

are

some

of

the

stories

you

could

tell

us?

Ashley
14:08

Um

oftentimes

all

of

our,

I

think

what's

interesting

about

um

food

banks

is

the

misconception

that

you

do

think

that

people

that

are

the

low

poverty

in

that

um

have

a

need,

and

that's

who

they're

coming

to

receive

help.

But

the

people

that

come,

they're

different

stories,

um,

they're

different

types

of

families,

um,

maybe

one

person

in

a

household

up

to

12,

um,

where

they

have

their

take

grandparents

taking

care

of

grandchildren.

You

know,

you

have

one

parent

that

can't,

they

can't

afford

child

care.

So

now

you

have

instead

of

two

members

working,

you

have

one

parent

working

because

just

the

cost

of

living

in

general

has

increased.

And

I

think

that

that's

really

important

to

understand

that

it's

um

food

insecurity

affects

everybody.

Um,

it

could

be

just

you've

lost

your

job

and

you

need

assistance

for

that

time.

Um,

and

so

I

think

that

that's

important

to

stress

and

know

that

people

that

do

come

to

our

pantry

are

all

types.

So

we

do

have

the

bookmobile

come

and

help

with

children

and

give

them

a

free

book

every

time,

you

know,

once

um

a

quarter

they

come.

And

we

talk

to

families

that

are

struggling

with

health

issues,

um,

that

don't

know

where

to

go,

and

oftentimes

wear

their

area,

um,

their

safe

place,

um,

where

they

can

just

have

a

friend

and

really

know

that

they're

seen

for

that

moment,

um,

whether

it

is

for

five

minutes

or

10

minutes.

I

know

most

of

their

stories.

They

know

our

story

and

where

we

come

from,

that

our

children,

um,

our

grandchild,

you

know,

those

things

become

a

family.

Um,

so

it

just

becomes

more

of

a

place

of

need,

but

really

just

a

place

of

care

and

dignity.

Uh,

and

I

think

that

that's

really

something

that

we've

tried

to

hone

in.

Um,

it's

not

just

one

story

or

one

person,

it's

everybody

that

we

talk

to.

Um,

it's

one,

it's

Stories Of Dignity, Hope, And Faith

Ashley
16:10

like

a

family

reunion.

Every

two

weeks

they

come.

If

I

don't

show

up,

they

think

something's

wrong

and

they

check

in.

So

it

really

has

become

that.

And

I

know

for

Sean,

um,

you

were

kind

of

behind

the

scenes.

So

sometimes

he

doesn't

get

to

see

some

of

the

households

and

patrons

that

we

help,

but

we

do

help

a

program

that

is

called

the

RAP

program,

and

that's

a

rehabilitation

program.

Um,

and

that

is

for

individuals

that

are

incarcerated,

so

they

come

behind

the

scenes

and

kind

of

help

us

with

restocking

and

things

like

that.

And

that's

kind

of

a

moment

for

us

to

kind

of

get

to

minister

and

really

tend

to

talk,

not

really

minister,

but

just

really

get

to

talk

to

people

that

have

had

a

hard

time.

And

I

think

Sean

has

more

of

a

connection

there

with

those

individuals

and

kind

of

walk

through

that

process

with

them.

But

we

get

to

see

them

graduate

the

program

as

well.

So

I'll

let

you

kind

of

talk

about

it.

Bishop Wright
17:05

Yeah,

Sean,

what's

this

been

like

for

you

connecting

with

folks?

Sean
17:09

Yeah,

um,

well,

you

know,

I

think

it's

kind

of

uh

the

pantry,

my

experience

in

the

pantry,

along

with

my

experience

in

the

church,

has

really

focused

on

this

idea

that

there's

uh

people

who

have

the

same

mission

as

you,

the

same

goals,

and

connecting

with

those

individuals

in

a

way

where

it

uh

magnifies

our

strengths

and

our

abilities.

So

when

we

talk

about

ascension,

uh

Ascension

is

a

really

kind

of

unique

uh

church

because

it's

a

smaller

church

community,

but

everyone

is

so

talented

and

just

comes

with

so

many

different

things

to

offer

uh

to

the

surrounding

environment

and

to

each

other.

And

so

that's

one

of

those

really

nice

connections

that

you

make.

And

in

the

pantry,

it's

the

same

thing.

Uh

Ashley

mentioned

the

rap

program,

and

that's

a

group

of

people

who

are

currently

incarcerated,

they're

working

towards

their

release,

they're

getting

involved

in

the

community

in

a

variety

of

different

ways.

I've

had

the

pleasure

of

working

with

them

multiple

different

times

through

the

pantry,

and

what

I

found

in

talking

to

those

guys,

every

time

I

talk

to

them,

is

I

walk

away

learning

something

new.

I

walk

away

with

a

feeling

and

an

understanding

of

how

hopeful

they

are

for

their

future

and

the

impact

that

we're

making

in

a

positive

way.

Bishop Wright
18:47

You

know,

that's

the

thing

about

it.

You

know,

God's

weird

economy,

uh,

when

we

take

up

this

good

work

uh

uh

of

giving,

whether

it's

food

or

clothing

or

compassion,

um,

whatever

we're

giving

out,

however

that

looks,

we

end

up

being,

it

sort

of

comes

back

to

us,

bounces

back

to

us,

you

know,

a

couple

fold,

and

then

we

feel

a

new

buoyancy,

a

new

clarity,

a

new

gratitude.

It's

it's

I've

had

that

same

experience

over

the

years.

As

I

listen

to

you

two

talk,

I

mean,

I

I,

you

know,

the

Bible

verse

that

comes

to

comes

to

mind

is,

you

know,

the

25th

chapter

of

Matthew,

which

is

which

is,

you

know,

as

you

take

care

of

the

least

of

these,

uh,

you

take

care

of

me,

Jesus

said.

So

Jesus

is

saying,

I

am

those

people.

There

is

no

space

between

those

people

on

the

sharp

edge

of

need

and

me.

And

uh,

you

know,

I'm

sure

you've

heard

that

before,

but

I

mean,

I

just

I

see

it,

I

saw

it

in

you

that

in

that

church

visit

uh

where

I

met

you,

and

I

I

hear

it

in

more

detail

now.

Uh

and

I

think

this

is

what

the

world

needs.

Um,

you

know,

the

church

talks

a

whole

lot,

and

and

you

know,

some

of

that

is

important.

Uh,

but

the

doing,

we

forget

that

Jesus

was

a

local

phenomena.

He

was

a

local

dude

in

a

local

neighborhood,

you

know,

doing

healings

and

and

encouraging

and

including

people

who

otherwise

were

not

included,

and

uh,

and

helping

people

understand

that

God

is

real

and

God

is

near.

And

so

I'm

I'm

just

so

glad

to

see

this

expression

uh

um

in

the

Diocese

of

Atlanta

in

Northwest

Georgia.

And

I'm

so

grateful

to

you

all,

to

you

too,

and

to

all

the

people

that

uh

are

in

your

network.

I

I

I

wonder

I

wonder

what

you

would

say

to

Ashley

and

and

Sean

of

two

years

ago,

uh,

now

that

you

know

what

you

know

and

now

that

you've

experienced

what

you

experienced,

what

would

you

say

back

to

those

young

people

who

took

that

bold

step

uh

and

and

left

wonderful

careers

and

and

you

know

ended

up

in

a

uh

a

smallish

town

in

northwest

Georgia?

What

could

you

say

to

them

now?

Sean
20:53

Uh

I

would

say

put

your

faith

in

the

idea

that

something

greater

than

you

is

on

the

way.

Bishop Wright
21:00

What

would

you

add

to

that,

Ashley?

Ashley
21:02

Letting

go

of

control

and

what

you

don't

know

and

kind

of

putting

faith

in

God

um

really

is

the

key

to

things.

So

I

think

in

the

times

that

I

felt

them

where

maybe

it

wasn't

the

right

decision,

I

went

right

back

to

that

and

just

kind

of

let

go

of

my

uncertainties.

And

it

did

work

out

exactly

the

way

that

it

was

supposed

to.

But

just

so

I

just

not

give

up.

Don't

give

up

on

the

faith

of

it

because

it

will

work

out.

Bishop Wright
21:32

You

know,

I

love

that.

Um,

you

know,

that's

really

the

best

sermon,

is

that

I

talk

about

God's

trustworthiness.

You

know,

there's

a

trustworthiness

to

God

that

you

you

you

you

won't

know

until

you

take

the

leap,

until

you

take

the

step.

Uh,

you

know,

it's

it's

intellectual

up

until

that

point.

But

then

when

you

take

the

step,

then

you

really

sort

of

realize

that

there

is

a

uh,

I

like

to

say

there's

a

buoyancy

there

and

uh

and

there's

an

abundance

to

life

that

that

comes.

So

have

you

found

the

community

that

you

were

looking

for?

Uh

you

said

you

wanted

to

not

be

anonymous,

you

wanted

to

be

part

and

parcel.

Have

you

found

it?

Ashley
22:10

I

believe

so.

I

do.

Um,

it's

interesting

because

I

talked

to

you

know

my

aunt

in

California

often,

quite

often,

and

you

know,

she

says

to

me,

you

know,

you

were

happy

where

you

were

at

here,

you

know,

in

California.

She

said,

but

there

is

just

an

amount

of

sunshine

that

comes

your

way

where

you're

at,

right?

And

I

can

see

where

you're

where

you

are

where

you

should

be.

And

as

much

as

that

frustrates

them,

because

they

don't,

they

didn't

understand

what

we

were

doing

and

we

didn't

have

the

full

answer,

it

they're

seeing

it,

and

they're

seeing

it

through

how

we're

living

and

and

the

peace

that

we're

having

in

our

days.

And

it's

not

easy

every

day,

but

uh,

we

are

reminded

that

the

path

that

we're

taking

is

the

one

that

we

should

be

on.

Bishop Wright
23:04

I

love

Donate, Volunteer, And Get Help

Bishop Wright
23:05

it.

I

love

it.

Well,

there

are

lots

of

people

listening,

and

uh

if

they

wanted

to

learn

more

or

to

help

out

uh

in

some

way,

how

could

they

be

in

touch?

Is

there

a

website

you

could

say?

Ashley
23:18

Yes,

they

can

go

to

reddoorfood.com

and

they

can

reach

out

to

me

directly.

Bishop Wright
23:23

And

can

they

make

donations

there?

Ashley
23:26

Absolutely,

and

they

can

sign

up

for

food

services

and

they

can

sign

up

for

volunteering

as

well.

Bishop Wright
23:32

That's

fantastic.

Well,

I

thank

God

for

both

of

you,

and

I

thank

God

for

the

faith

that

you

followed

that

got

you

to

this

place.

And

I

know

I

speak

on

behalf

of

the

30

some

odd

thousand

people

uh

that

you're

helping.

Uh,

we're

so

grateful

for

uh

for

both

of

you

and

for

the

good

work

that

God

has

entrusted

to

you.

Thanks

very

much.

Ashley
23:54

Thank

you

for

your

time.

I

appreciate

it.

Bishop Wright
23:56

Yeah,

God

bless

you.