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History, Mission, and Values

History

Early Days

In the early 1970s Jewel Davis Smith founded a food pantry at the Northside United Methodist Church in response to her pastor’s sermon. Food and clothing donations were distributed to those in need. After her death in 1991, the Northside churches, which supported Jewel’s food pantry, formalized their association and incorporated CAIN, then known as Churches Active in Northside, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 1992.

New Home

St. Philip’s Episcopal Church purchased a former beauty salon on Hamilton Avenue to provide a permanent home for CAIN. CAIN moved from the United Methodist Church to its present location in June 2000. A 2,000-square-foot addition opened in May 2002. The addition increased CAIN’s capacity to serve 200+ households per month. In 2006 CAIN converted its food pantry to the best practice model of a choice pantry, where guests choose their own food.

Services Extended

In 2010, CAIN expanded services to include Phil’s Place, a weekly free community meal. At it’s inception in 2010, an average of 65 community members were served weekly and that number has increased to 100-150 community members in 2024. Guests are served by a dedicated team of volunteers from area churches and service organizations.

In 2014, CAIN again expanded its services by assuming responsibility for the Grace Place Catholic Worker Community in College Hill. In collaboration with Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), Grace Place provided shelter for families in transition from homelessness. In 2022, CAIN sold Grace Place to Renting Partnerships, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to create long-term affordable housing solutions.

Campus Expansion

A faithful donor, Annette Liebing, made a generous bequest in June 2015 that helped CAIN launch an effort to realize its long-held dream of expanded community engagement by purchasing the house next door to its Northside food pantry. With significant donations from individuals and local foundations, Annette’s House became a reality in 2019. Renovations include conversion of first and second floors of Annette’s House into programming space, a food storage pantry expansion onto the main CAIN building, and grounds improvement. This improved and increased healthy food offerings, including fresh produce and refrigerated foods. Having extra space created opportunities for new partners to offer other supportive services, targeted for households at or below 200% poverty level. The second floor of Annette’s House is leased out other community organizations, starting with WordPlay Cincy and then Third Way Peace Fellowship.

Legacy to Present Day

Starting as thirteen member churches from six Cincinnati-area communities, CAIN has transformed into a complex network of support from those same churches and more community members. For 10 consecutive years, CAIN has been highly ranked and received the Top-Rated Award designation from GreatNonprofits, based on reviews from guests, volunteers, donors and other stakeholders. In 1993, CAIN’s pantry served 70 families each month, which grew to over 800 families monthly in 2024. Phil’s Place served over 5,000 hot meals and Annette’s House hosted 34 partner organizations offering over 500 hours of programs and services.

Vision

We envision a future where poverty is eliminated, food sovereignty is realized, and everyone thrives.

Mission

CAIN fights poverty, advances food sovereignty, and empowers community through mutual support and collective action.

Core Values

At CAIN, our board, staff, and volunteers are committed to upholding the following values as the foundation of our work:

  • We affirm food sovereignty as a fundamental human right through access to nutritious and culturally relevant food.
  • We fight to end poverty, led by those most impacted.
  • We utilize our collective power to advance justice, embrace diversity, and uplift marginalized voices.
  • We support and practice responsible resource use, environmental justice, and sustainable activities. 
  • We cultivate a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive community where every person is respected, valued, and empowered.
  • We commit to continually evolving in response to the needs of our community.
  • We encourage and celebrate shared moments of joy as essential to healing, resilience, and liberation.

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