Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Dayton.
Hi Jeff, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have been a pastor for the last twenty years. I spent a decade up in Avon Lake before moving back to the area where I grew up. My wife and I chose to put down roots in North Canton when we moved back into the area eleven years ago. I began serving as assistant pastor at the Summit Church, which was located in the Green YMCA at that time. We were contacted by a church in North Canton that was interested in giving us their building. Once we took possession of the property and began remodeling, the question in our minds was how we could best love and serve North Canton. In the fall of 2018, we began connecting with the Cares Team in the North Canton City School District. We wanted to help any families in the district who were struggling to have a Thanksgiving meal. We gathered turkeys, pies, and all the fixings for needy families in the school district. That Christmas, the Cares Team also asked us to help with several families who were unable provide Christmas gifts for their children. At the beginning of 2019, I sat down with the Cares Team, and they expressed the growing food insecurity problem within the district. They wondered if we would be willing to help. I offered our facility to hand out food, but we had no place to store anything. The Cares Team partnered us with a local concerned restaurant owner/brewer who was willing to store our food and help us transport food back and forth from the Foodbank. On our very first pantry in March of 2019, we were ready to serve an army, and we ended up serving only sixteen families. We got the word out and lovingly served twice a month until COVID hit. At that point, we were serving about 60 families every two weeks. When COVID happened, many pantries decided to shut down. We decided to move our grocery store from inside our church sanctuary to the outside of our building. We began running a Chick-fil-A-style pantry drive-thru every week. And now we were serving 150 families a week. We continued serving weekly outside of the Summit Church for over two years until the Board of Directors felt it was safe to bring families back into our facility to shop again.
For the last six years, we have set up and torn down our pantry at the Summit Church. At the beginning of 2025, we began looking for a permanent warehouse/pantry location and an Executive Director. In the fall of 2025, we opened our new pantry location at 5948 Mayfair Road in North Canton (3 miles from the Summit Church). We also constituted a new Board of Directors and hired our first employee, our Executive Director, Matt Ile. Matt was a former teacher/principal from the North Canton City School District. He has come on board to help lead our pantry at our new location. We are excited for 2026 for all the opportunities and possibilities that await.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have never been afraid to try new things at our church or at the pantry. We are always assessing and adapting to help serve more people. Our biggest challenge was losing our pantry warehouse at the beginning of 2025. It was our fourth warehouse location. We were tired of transporting food back and forth from warehouses to the Summit Church (not to mention the wear and tear on the facility). With the help of some new friends, we were able to locate and sign a five-year lease the morning we had to vacate our current warehouse. The new pantry/warehouse location has allowed us to serve 60% more people.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have been an ordained pastor for over 20 years. In that time, I have had a wide array of opportunities. I have worked with remodeling, properties, teens, children, small groups, safety, mission trips, hospice and hospital care, teaching, training, and counseling. I enjoy the variety that comes with ministry. And I love seeing people and families restored and growing.
How do you define success?
I find success in seeing the lives of individuals and families transformed and moving in healthy patterns. I love to hear stories of families who have transitioned from needing our pantry to saying goodbye and thank you for being there in their biggest times of need.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nccpantry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northcantoncarespantry/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northcantoncarespantry
