Patrick McKelvey’s work to assist people who need food assistance in Arnold and the surrounding area did not go unnoticed last year.
The Arnold Chamber of Commerce recently named the executive director of the Gateway Food Pantry the 2025 Don Earl Citizen of the Year.
McKelvey, 29, of Oakville received the award Jan. 20 during the chamber’s luncheon at Wesley Rogers Steakhouse and Buffet in Arnold.
“I was very surprised,” McKelvey said. “There were many other nominees, and many good people in Arnold who are very deserving. I am overjoyed it was me and very grateful, but I did not think I was going to win.”
Courtney Sokolis, chamber executive director, said five people were nominated for the award that has been handed out since 2000. Chamber members are asked to vote for who they believe should receive the award.
She said she believes members voted for McKelvey after they saw how important the Gateway Food Pantry, 2024 Key West Drive, is for city residents and Arnold-area residents following a tornado in March and people being affected by the Boeing strike and temporary loss of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the federal government shutdown.
“The rise in need created the demand,” Sokolis said. “Patrick asked for additional help and support, and us as community stepped up to do anything and everything we could to supply additional food and additional support.
“Patrick asking for the additional support that the pantry needed kind of drew the attention in that direction.”
Marie Sammons, board member, said she nominated McKelvey for the Don Earl Citizen of the Year award for the work he has done at the pantry since becoming the executive director in December 2023.
“They have continually increased the number of families who are being provided with food, and they are reaching out more to the community,” she said. “He has been a big inspiration to those in need. I think they feel like they can get help at the food pantry with Patrick, the board of directors and everyone who is there.”
Early flight
McKelvey said he almost did not attend the luncheon when the award was announced. He said he was at a friend’s wedding in Austin, Texas, and originally, he was not going to return until 3 p.m. Jan. 20.
Sokolis said she and chamber board president Brad Cary convinced McKelvey to change his flight without telling him that he was going to receive the award.
“It was a very weird conversation that Brad and I had with him when we found out he was flying out for a wedding,” she said.
Sokolis said she told McKelvey that it was a coin flip on who would win, and she and the chamber members would prefer to be able to hand the award to the winner instead of just showing the winner’s picture during the presentation.
McKelvey said he changed his flight after that conversation.
“I rescheduled my flight to 5 a.m. to make sure I landed, had time to change into a suit and run to the chamber meeting,” he said. “I am glad I did. I may have cried if I wasn’t there.”
McKelvey said last year was difficult as the number of people seeking food assistance ballooned at the pantry.
He said the pantry was serving 320 families a week during its regular food distribution in December. The pantry had served 190 families a week in December 2024 and 155 in December 2023.
McKelvey also said emergency food distributions spiked to a record high last year with 772 with the demand peaking in November with 148. He said the pantry provided 507 emergency food distributions in 2024 and 344 in 2023.
“Last year was tremendously difficult, but this puts wind back in my sails for 2026,” he said of being named citizen of the year. “It feels good to feel love back from the community.
“I tell people all of the time, people were coming to me and they had nothing left in their pantry. That meant they were very stressed out. They needed food right then. Sometimes working with people who need food that desperately can be difficult for us because the stories will break your heart. Sometimes it can be difficult because some people feel they need more food than you can give them at the time. When the temperature is so hot, it is difficult. This made it all worth it.”
McKelvey said he expected January to be the busiest month of a year the pantry has ever had, and he doesn’t anticipate the need for food assistance to decrease throughout the year.
“Our numbers are down from the government shutdown, but they are higher than what I projected them to be,” he said. “It is shaping up to be another record-breaking year at the Gateway Food Pantry for regular food distribution and emergency food distributions.”
McKelvey said while his name is on the award, he considers it an award for everyone who either works or volunteers at the pantry.
“It is really the volunteers who keep the pantry open,” he said. “It is really my employees who interacted with more than 400 client families in November and December on a weekly basis. It’s everyone who makes sure the food pantry supports our clients, which is why the Gateway Food Pantry exists.”
Sammons said she is glad McKelvey was recognized for his work.
“He has put in some hard work getting the food pantry to where it is today,” she said. “I was very excited that he won the award, and everyone recognized his accomplishments and voted for him.”
The pantry was originally called the Arnold Food Pantry and was created in 1984. It changed its name to the Gateway Food Pantry in June 2024.
The pantry offers food assistance to residents of the Fox C-6 and Windsor C-1 school districts and those who live in the 63127 and 63128 zip codes in south St. Louis County.
Those seeking assistance or wanting to donate may visit gatewayfoodpantry.org or call 636-287-3663. Gateway Food Pantry is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.