More families in our community are struggling to put food on their tables, and they are reaching out to Circle of Concern for help.

As our staff and volunteers work to meet this steadily growing demand, our agency must increase capacity to safely store and distribute more food to more neighbors in need.

Our Board of Directors has authorized a multi-faceted capital project that will increase pantry and warehouse spaces, and cooling and freezing capacity, and provide additional staff offices to ensure that we can continue to serve families safely and efficiently.

You can ensure that no one is turned away… that vulnerable seniors, children, single parent households, those living with a disability and others struggling due to job cuts, medical concerns and other challenges can access the wholesome foods and life-saving programs they need. Please join us in Growing Our Circle and Feeding More Families!

 How We Help

Circle of Concern offers nutritious foods in a client choice food pantry, along with meaningful wraparound programs, including rent and utility assistance, counseling, career coaching, scholarships, kid programs and more. This best-practice approach helps struggling families to regain their footing and to move toward stability and hopefulness.

Recently, a widowed mother shared how Circle made a difference.  The food, counseling, and encouragement from our caseworkers helped greatly following the unexpected loss of her job a couple of years ago. Each of her children enjoyed a camp experience thanks to Circle’s Summer Opportunities program.

Today, this working mom has a new job and her sons are happy and thriving.  She is grateful for the support she and her kids experienced while coming to Circle.  “The love that you all showed to me and my boys will stay with me forever,” she says.  Our community of supporters makes success stories like this one possible!

The Need

The number of families reaching out for assistance has increased in recent years.  With the help of generous donors like you, Circle served approximately 725 households each month in 2025, reflecting a 23% increase over 2021.  We’ve seen a 10% growth since last year – now 800 families turn to Circle for help each month.  Indeed, our client numbers are growing. As mothers with young children, elderly seniors, those living with a disability, seasonal workers and those who are unemployed or unhoused  reach out for help, Circle must be ready to assist with wholesome foods and critical support.  Circle’s warehouse, refrigeration, freezer and pantry shopping spaces are at capacity.  Our small, decades-old warehouse, once an auto repair shop, no longer accommodates our storage needs during peak seasons.  Tall shelving units require staff and volunteers to move heavy crates up and down ladders and then across a parking lot into our main building for sharing with clients.  To meet the increasing need in our community, and improve the safety and efficiency of our operations, we must grow our Circle! Please click here to view all of the artist renderings.

A Look Back…and A Look Forward

Circle began serving the community in 1967, when a small group of churches began meeting to coordinate services for local families in need.  Members met in churches and borrowed spaces for many years.  In 1989, Circle moved to a small building in Valley Park.  In May 2009, after a grassroots funding campaign, construction was completed on a new, larger facility at 112 St. Louis Avenue in Valley Park, where operations continue today.  Over the years, Circe’s service area has grown.  We now serve the footprint of the Parkway, Rockwood, Kirkwood and Valley Park school districts as well as the Fenton (63026) and High Ridge (63049) communities.

In 2019 and again in 2024, Circle acquired adjacent property, first east of the pantry and then at the southwest corner of Circle’s parking lot. Circle now occupies a full corner city block, making way for much-needed campus improvements, including a new 4200-square-foot attached warehouse, a gravity-fed shelving system, increased processing, storage and refrigeration capacity,  covered donation drop-off and walkway from the existing warehouse, additional staff offices, and much-needed parking and drainage repairs.  The project will enable us to serve 40% more families – as many as 1100 households monthly,  improve safety for our volunteers and staff and accommodate an influx of food donations during peak donation periods.

The Investment Required

The budget for the full project is approximately $2.4 Million.   We aim to raise up to $1 million from our surrounding community and individual donors between 2026 and December 2027; and funding the remaining $1.4 million from Circle’s board-directed quasi endowment, funds set aside to support future strategic priorities and client programs.

Will You Help?

Your generosity has brought life-saving resources to our community’s most at-risk neighbors. We thank you. Will you now help to ensure that new families reaching out can get the assistance they need? Will you help us to improve safety for our hard-working volunteers as they move food from warehouse shelves to our pantry shelves? Learn today how you can be a part of Growing Our Circle…Feeding More Families. Please donate now or make a pledge. Or email circle@circleofconcern.org to speak with a staff member. We extend our deepest gratitude to our friends who have contributed thus far!

Campaign Goal — $1 Million.  Raised to date:  $130,000 (as of 11/2/2026)

 We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the following donors:

 William R. Orthwein, Jr. and Laura Rand Orthwein Foundation  

VISIONARY CIRCLE

St. Louis Community Foundation

HOPE CHAMPIONS

Anonymous Corporate Friend

Anonymous Friends

Jefferson Foundation

Boyd & Barbara Jones

COMMUNITY BUILDERS

PROJECT PARTNERS

CIRCLE FRIENDS

 

If you would like to make a bigger impact, please contact cyndi@circleofconcern.org or tim@circleofconcern.org to discuss project components and underwriting opportunities!

Board of Directors

Executive Officers
Brian Boeglin, President
Andrea Trapet, Vice President
Karen Korn, Treasurer
Randy Jacobsmeyer, Secretary

Directors
Paul Brusati
Kathleen Fuchs
John Heskett
Susan Nunez
Edie Quick
Vinod Vydier

Executive Director
Cynthia Miller

Development Staff
Tim Elwell, Development Director
Kathy Bratkowski, Community Relations Manager
Beth Niezing, Administrator, Donor Relations & Finance

Programs Staff
Becky Pool, Director of Nutrition and Pantry Operations
Jennifer Lawrence, Director of Programs
Brittnie Selbert, Volunteer and Facilities Manager
Bridget Guffey, Pantry Coordinator