Do You Have a Local Food Pantry?

Do you have a food pantry in your area? If so, I encourage you to become involved. You may be on the receiving end, and understand the importance and benefit of the food pantry on a very intimate level. If this is your role, be encouraged, this is temporary. Some of our biggest donors once were on the receiving end too and look forward to giving back because they know the difference the food pantry made in their family's survival. Keep your chin up, better days are coming. You've got this. 

On the flip side, you may be at a place in your life where you have the funds, supplies, and time to give back. There are so many ways to help others in need of a little help or need. Each pantry, whether small or large, runs differently. The commonality is that no two pantries are exactly alike. The pantry I volunteer at was in the church basement when I first started to volunteer, moved into a very small one room shed-type-building, and now is housed in a beautiful, spacious, and well maintained building.

If you are interested in helping your local food pantry, I'm sure you can google and find one near you. I volunteer at the Mexico Food Pantry, located in Mexico, New York. My hope is to share ways our volunteers and community keep our pantry open and a success. This may be different for your pantry but I hope it inspires you to get involved using the gifts and talents you have...to help others. There is no better time than today.

Ways you can help your local food pantry:

1. ​​DONATE
   1. Monetary - your $1 is worth $4 when you donate, so a $25 donation is like giving the food pantry $100.00 of buying power through their food bank
   2. Food - this is a great way to provide flour, sugar, cooking oil, kid's cereal and other items pantries can't purchase (because they aren't healthy) but are necessities
   3. Health and Beauty items - monetary donations are used for food so donations of shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotions, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and such are some of the first items you may stock up on but a lot of pantry clients are forced to treat these like luxury items. (We have a woman who donates health and beauty items each month because when her kids were little, and she was forced to be a single mom, it was the health and beauty items she missed the most. The pantry provided food but the others were extras, she donates each month so our client's kids can have bubble baths and enjoy these luxuries)
   4. Hobby Magazines - you know the quilting, woodworking, sewing, crocheting, and hobby type magazines you pick up while waiting in the checkout line, these are precious to our clients as they can make gifts for their family and friends using the patterns in these magazines
   5. Children's books - a lot of families bring their kids and they don't have extra money for books, so we like to keep an assortment of books for the kids to read and KEEP
   6. Time - there are an array of ways you can spend time helping your pantry
      1. Unloading Delivery trucks 
      2. Putting away delivered items 
      3. Stocking shelves, freezers, and coolers
      4. Cleaning the pantry shelves, floors, walls, appliances, windows
      5. Organizing donations (especially around the holidays)
      6. Handing out food on distribution days (outside during COVID-19)
      7. Walking shoppers through while they shop
      8. Talking to clients while they wait to shop
      9. Carry boxes/bags to the cars for disabled or senior citizens after they shop
      10. Bake for the volunteers (yup, we have people who treat our volunteers as a thank you with their baking talents)
      11. Answer the phone
      12. ??An idea yet to be thought of??

As you see, there are so many ways for you to be involved with your local pantry. Our pantry has a dedicated and tireless coordinator, dedicating her life to keeping this pantry moving forward and a vital part of our community. Next to her, it is only because of the multitude of volunteers that we are able to serve all the families in our school district. During COVID-19, we have provided food for more than four times our regular number of clients. People travel from other districts so they have food to eat. This is one of the most rewarding parts of my week.

I was going to list all the benefits of giving back and helping at the food pantry but I'd like to hear from you. Leave a comment of why you volunteer? How it makes you feel to volunteer?

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Thank you for volunteering!
You are making a difference.

How are you helping your neighbor?
​
How does it make you feel to give back
and help those in your neighborhood?