The cupboards aren’t bare, but with the upcoming holidays the Community Action Program food pantry could use more donations to help meet the needs of low-income Bennett County residents.
“More people use the food pantry every year,” said Mary Thompson who has ran the food pantry for the last 41 years.
The food pantry currently serves 160 families each month who meet strict income guidelines.
“Thanksgiving and Christmas are a busy time for us,” she said.
This year they will be distributing senior meals for those 60 and older in conjuction with the Partnership With Native Americans.
“They bring down turkeys, pie filling, dressing, just the full meal for Thanksgiving, but the program doesn’t serve all our clients,” said Thompson.
“Community donations
Our country is experiencing a food poverty explosion. Five years ago, food banks were a rarity. Nowadays, there are over a thousand across the UK and the phrase “food bank” is accepted into everyday vocabulary. Thirteen million people are living below the breadline, that’s almost one in five people, and the numbers are continuing to rise drastically. The use of food banks is continuing to grow, and doctors say the amount of people living in food poverty in now an increasing public health issue. In 2013/14, the Trussell Trust estimated that over 20 million meals were given to people in food poverty by the growing network of food charities across our nation. Far more has to be done
Thesis Statement: The Houston Food Bank uses the efforts of volunteers as well as donations to support the reduction of hunger in the community.
One food pantry I volunteer for has had to cut its operating hours simply because it does not have enough food. This is becoming a nationwide trend.
This particular article is written by Patricia A. Duffy who states that low income families use the food pantry for emergence assistance for food, aside from the traditional government programs; this article suggests that food pantries are heavily used for emergency food (Duffy). The article focuses more on lower income families instead of the homeless. It compares food stamp programs along with the food pantry to understand how they both tie in to one another. There are various statistics and interviews of those who participate in such programs across the nation.
Two years ago, I was sitting in a dimly lit packing room, wedged between a stalled out pale yellow refrigerator and a stack of boxes, packed to the brim with all sorts of canned fruits and vegetables. People worked quickly here, moving boxes from one corner of the room to another, creating a rhythm of sorts. Thump. Swoosh. Thump. Swoosh. The boxes left in droves as lines of people congregated around the open warehouse door with open hands ready to accept what was offered while statements of gratitude leapt from their tongues. The amount of people waiting outside far outnumbered the volunteers, but the volunteers worked hard, they knew they had to today. It was 104 degrees outside and some of these people standing in line, with children in tow, had been waiting for hours. It was distribution day at the South Texas Food Bank and I was there to help.
There are many food pantries in our community, and each
During the break the volunteers asked us several questions. From what I gathered all of the volunteers also need the assistance of the pantry. Many asked us how they could help us, assuming we had fallen on hard times. I assured them they we were just there to help them and donate our time. Volunteers receive each goods in their boxes in return for their help.
How much of people’s paycheck should pay for other people’s food? Well let’s all face it, everyday working people aren’t only working to support themselves they are also supporting those on government support as well. Over nineteen percent of Americans are on what the government calls food stamps also known as EBT. Of these people a large amount of them lie on their application and don’t actually need this government support(J.B. Wogan). The people are able to do this because the government doesn't regulate what people do with their food stamps enough, nor do they do enough background research before allowing people to receive food stamps. In order to be sure that these people aren’t lying and cheating the system the government should implement
We will deliver nearly 45,000 meals this year primarily through volunteers. Meals are delivered Monday-Friday to homebound seniors. For many, this is an invaluable opportunity to check on their well-being. That’s when a meal means even more.
Before participating in this project I was not fully aware of how people in my area were suffering and I had no idea of the aid certain institutions provided to the people who were in need of help. Through this project I was able to see that a large number of low-income people in Decatur were suffering from a lack of access to healthy and affordable food options. Being able to go to the grocery store anytime I want and buy anything I need is a privilege that I took for granted for far too long. I now understand that there are some people in the area that have no means of transportation so they must walk or take the bus just to get something to eat. Unfortunately many of the places surrounding these low-income residents are overpriced so they residents are forced to eat unhealthy food. This is why the Inn plays such a vital role in the lives of these people. Everyone in the area has access to fresh and healthy food every single day thanks to the Inn, which for some people is probably a life saver. The Inn receives donations of food all the time from people all over the area. I have seen a few flyers and posters around campus about donating food to homeless shelters and it seems there is always someone doing a food drive. Every year Millikin has a chili bowl event where art students make bowls in the ceramics studio. People can they purchase the bowls at
Though many local food banks and schools have contributed to fixing this issue, there is much more that can be done alleviate the problem. Contacting Solano County’s schools and community leaders to expand summer food programs will benefit students who rely on school food for their daily meals. Furthermore, working with care and homes centers will not only assist the staff members, but will also ensure children and adults get a nutritional meal every day. Donating cans of food whenever there is a food drive at school or any place asking is another way to provide food for those who need it. Raising awareness to those who do not know about local food drives and programs will also help. Of course, there is always an option to start a new food drive. By lending a helping hand, there will be more smiles on the faces of children and adults who have not done so in a long
Early one November morning a woman stared at me with utter disbelief, tears of gratitude streaming down her cheeks."Thank you," she mouthed silently to me, clutching her son to her chest. I was proud knowing that, because of my efforts, her family and many more who struggle with poverty would be able to share a Thanksgiving meal. I knew that many children in my community would not be able to celebrate the holiday as others might because their parents could not afford to buy food items, and so as Vice President of a community service club called Interact, I was inspired to provide these children with a Thanksgiving dinner. The club officers and I sat crowded around our adviser's desk brainstorming how we would collect ingredients. We decided
Denny’s can impact childhood hunger in the US by working closely with food banks across the nation, creating food pantries, and creating community gardens in low income areas. Food banks collects food from many different sources and it also distributes its resources. Furthermore, creating a food pantry in high schools that are in low income areas can help families. Students who attend these high schools will also be from families who struggle with obtaining food. Moreover, students can come to the pantry and get some food for their families. In addition, a high school is a central location for numerous families. High schools Students can volunteer in expanding the food pantry, who will also work closely with the city’s food banks.
They will ask donors for specific foods, but its based on what food products go quickly at the pantry, not on nutrition. They are using the expiration food list provided by UW-Extension. They are interested in recipes for foods people aren’t sure how to cook (frozen fish). They are also interested about what other pantries are doing at their sites. Currently serving up to 200 families per month.
Recently I was given the opportunity to volunteer at the grand opening of a food pantry ran buy a local church. I was first approached with this opportunity by a family member, I wasn’t quite sure what exactly what a food pantry was and what it took to operate it. I