Lynn Staggs is founder and executive director of The Storehouse, a ministry providing food and clothing to people in need throughout Henderson County.
Lynn Staggs has a soft spot in her heart for “little old ladies.” Raised by her grandmother, she grew up in a neighborhood filled with elderly women, all of whom took turns caring for and watching over her. “I was everyone’s granddaughter,” she says. “If one was going to the store, they would take me with them.”
Today, it’s Staggs who is bringing the store to little old ladies as well as to the disabled, military veterans, struggling parents and children in need. Staggs is the founder and executive director of The Storehouse, a ministry providing food, clothes, hygiene products and spiritual counseling to people in need throughout Henderson County.
A ministry that began nine years ago by helping five seniors has today grown into an accredited nonprofit located on Hendersonville’s Seventh Avenue. Last year the organization provided relief to 2,693 families, totaling 6,097 individuals.
Staggs traces The Storehouse’s roots to her own experiences as a child, watching those around her struggle to put food on the table. Growing up poor, she recalls a life where her grandmother and her neighbors all grew much of their own food. Everyone grew something different and shared their modest bounty with each other.
She said the seed for The Storehouse was planted while working a cash register at a grocery store. “There was a little old lady who came through my line, and she would always buy cat food, but I knew she didn’t have a cat. I just knew,” she says. “I love little old ladies. There’s just too much stuff for anybody to be hungry in Henderson County and the United States.”
To learn more about The Storehouse, call 828-692-8300 or visit www.storehouseonline.org.