The Food & Clothing Co-op at Concordia Theological Seminary provides donated food, clothing, household items, and more to students preparing to serve as pastors, deaconesses, and missionaries. All of this comes at no financial cost to students, requiring only a limited commitment of volunteer hours. This does not affect their financial aid. The donations are provided by God’s faithful people, both individuals and organizations, in the local community and across the country. The Seminary, in turn, provides the space, utilities, maintenance, housekeeping, IT support, and paid staffing for the Co-op. These gifts of love significantly decrease daily financial burdens, freeing future servants of Christ to focus on their formation.

Since 1976, the Co-op has made do in improvised spaces which today include a basement beneath the student commons and the converted Spiegel Hall dormitory. Neither location is accessible, family-friendly, or equipped with proper space to receive and sort donations. The stairs in the current facilities limit accessibility, complicate donation handling, and make shopping challenging, especially for families with young children. It’s time to provide an accessible and dignified space for the care of your future pastors, deaconesses, and missionaries.

Everything on one level — that will help so much with strollers, and parents won’t have to worry about little ones going up and down steps.

–Deaconess Katherine Rittner, Food & Clothing Co-op Director

The new Co-op is part of the Seminary’s strategic plan to build on the strengths of the past to create the best possible residential formation experience for students. Every day, employees and volunteers at the Co-op battle against the limitations of the makeshift spaces. Without purpose-built rooms for handling donations, they have made the best of the space available to them. For 50 years, the Co-op has been feeding and clothing students and their families. A new Co-op will build on that strength, preparing this ministry for the next 50 years and beyond.

Open 50 weeks a year, the Co-op distributes thousands of pounds of meat, produce, and dairy, along with diapers, school supplies, newborn gift baskets, and clothing for every member of a student’s family.

Please help us as we work, with God’s help, to provide for the next 50 years and more of this ministry.

For most of our students and their families, we can meet 75 to 90% of their needs. When I talk to prospective and incoming students, especially the wives, you can see the fear and uncertainty lift when they hear that.

–Deaconess Katherine Rittner, Food & Clothing Co-op Director