It’s what drove the St. Thomas Aquinas parishioner, following his retirement as vice president of marketing for the old Hook’s Drugs chain, to take over operations of the Catholic church’s basement food pantry from parishioner Bob Kennie in January 1990.
“At the time, we only had maybe two clients a week for a little while,” Varnau recalled. “We could feed a family for three days.”
At the time, the St. Thomas Aquinas pantry, at 46th and Kenwood, had no convenient parking nor adequate freezer and refrigerator space. The pantry was also only accessible by outdoor steps that became treacherous in rainy and wintry conditions (or, if a contributor spilled jars of spaghetti sauce on them.) Storage of items were where Varnau could find space in multiple locations around Marion County.
It’s those kinds of memories and stories that have surfaced this month as Varnau celebrates his 90th birthday. Varnau (left in top picture) is now in his 35th year of contributing his talents to the food insecurity cause, still amazingly demonstrating his love of those in the community who are less fortunate.
The mark of Mark is clearly evident.
“We weren’t surprised,” said Matt Hayes, current Pantry director. “Whatever he is connected to seems to flourish.”
Varnau was just 55 when his exit from the drugstore business led him to a second career as unpaid food pantry director.
His availability coincided with the compassionate Kennie's retirement just after the 1989 Christmas holidays. Varnau saw a church newsletter bulletin seeking a replacement and it fit in.
His skills included continuing the feeding-the-poor legacy while also building a network of sources and other volunteers. Importantly, he saw opportunities to partner with other parishes in the north deanery, slowly taking the community pantry at St. Thomas Aquinas and merging into likeminded efforts being steered by parishioners at Christ the King and St. Joan of Arc, then later Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Luke the Evangelist.
Soon the needs of the hungry outpaced what the pantry could collect from those five churches alone, so the Pantry began to purchase from professional food suppliers such as Gleaners or other bulk providers, with additional labor from countless volunteers and produce from the region's burgeoning gardens. He’d haul purchased or donated items in the flatbed of his 1999 Chevy truck.
Then came a dream to relocate to a safer, centralized location which also led to the purchase in 2011 of a standalone building (site of an original late 1940s era neighborhood gas station) at 42nd Street and Boulevard. Bob White, John Juerling and Tom Quinn were also instrumental in that pursuit.)
Following a 15-month process of research, retrofitting, fundraising (thanks Ryan Brady), generosity (thanks to all, but especially to the Witchger family and Marian Inc. for years of behind-the-scenes support) and renovating, the food pantry reopened with a new name – Boulevard Place Food Pantry. (Attorney Brian Crist and Realtor Terry Rankin helped with navigating zoning issues and organizing the sale of the property to the Indianapolis chapter of St. Vincent de Paul Society.)
“God’s hand had to be in it,” Varnau told the Criterion in 2012. “People just thought the cause was great, and they were willing to help. I’ve wept many times because of the generosity of people.”
Varnau ensured the client shelves were full, regional vegetable gardens were connected, stockrooms were bolstered and records were meticulously kept. He also realized at age 80 the plate was so full it was time for a more mature approach that also could use younger hands.
Varnau turned over the director role to Cindy Brown in 2015, but as director emeritus he still had an active role during fundraising for the 2019-2021 renovation and expansion at the current site. Mark even helped pick out the revamped facility’s exterior orange and blue color schemes.
You’ll find the now 90-year-old Carmel resident doting on spouse Ann, keeping up with his six kids,12 grandkids and one grandchild. Or the green thumb will be in his garden or the pantry’s. He’s still driving the ’99 Chevy (known affectionately as the 'Monster') around, often toting Pantry recyclables offsite to grounds of STA to a bin just feet away from where that pantry was located.
From its humble beginnings where two clients were serviced a week, it's now between 300 to 400 weekly. Boulevard Place is now the 5th largest of over 200 pantries in Marion County. In 2023, the pantry served more than 630,000 pounds of food to more than 16,000 clients.
“A labor of love," Varnau said.
Sources for this piece included the Indianapolis Star, Criterion, United Way
and an in-the-works biography from Pantry Secretary Bob White.
Sources for this piece included the Indianapolis Star, Criterion, United Way
and an in-the-works biography from Pantry Secretary Bob White.
