Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant
During our have a heart for hunger campaign, one way that many organizations (and individuals) show their support of EECM is by hosting food drives. A large-scale food drive (like the Love Walk) can bring in over 1,000 pounds of food. That’s a lot of groceries. Which might lead you to wonder to yourself: what do they do with all that food?
Glad you asked. Food donations to EECM are mostly divided up between several programs. The bulk of the donations are distributed via the Food Pantry. Some are used in our two other hunger programs (Soup Kitchen and Meals on Wheels) and a few others are sent over to our Homeless Drop-In Center.
What we need the most of for the Food Pantry are staples. When a client comes to the pantry he or she is given two ready-packed grocery bags with pre-determined contents.
One has:
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
2 boxes of pasta
1 jar of peanut butter
1 jar of jelly
1 can of fruit
2 cans of vegetables
2 cans (or packages) of soup
2 boxes of macaroni and cheese or rice-a-roni
The other bag contains an assortment of things including cereal, cooking spices, canned tuna, and toilet paper.
The idea is that between these two bags, a family will have enough staples to eat for three days. If it’s an especially large family, we give them another bag. Families also receive a bag of mixed fresh produce (thanks to Whole Foods Market) and have the opportunity to take a loaf of bread. Please note that we have partnerships with local grocery stores to provide these items and we cannot accept perishable items from individuals or groups.
We are in constant need of the non-perishable items listed above. Some groups even do specialty food drives (like “can the fourth graders collect more boxes of macaroni and cheese than the fifth graders?”) which work out really well.
Of course, people donate other things than appear on the small list above. So what do we do with those? Well, we can use some things – like bags of rice or cans of beans – for the meals we prepare at the Soup Kitchen and for Meals on Wheels. Dave’s chili is a weekly favorite at the Soup Kitchen.
During our have a heart for hunger campaign, one way that many organizations (and individuals) show their support of EECM is by hosting food drives. A large-scale food drive (like the Love Walk) can bring in over 1,000 pounds of food. That’s a lot of groceries. Which might lead you to wonder to yourself: what do they do with all that food?Glad you asked. Food donations to EECM are mostly divided up between several programs. The bulk of the donations are distributed via the Food Pantry. Some are used in our two other hunger programs (Soup Kitchen and Meals on Wheels) and a few others are sent over to our Homeless Drop-In Center.
What we need the most of for the Food Pantry are staples. When a client comes to the pantry he or she is given two ready-packed grocery bags with pre-determined contents.
One has:
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
2 boxes of pasta
1 jar of peanut butter
1 jar of jelly
1 can of fruit
2 cans of vegetables
2 cans (or packages) of soup
2 boxes of macaroni and cheese or rice-a-roni
The other bag contains an assortment of things including cereal, cooking spices, canned tuna, and toilet paper.
The idea is that between these two bags, a family will have enough staples to eat for three days. If it’s an especially large family, we give them another bag. Families also receive a bag of mixed fresh produce (thanks to Whole Foods Market) and have the opportunity to take a loaf of bread. Please note that we have partnerships with local grocery stores to provide these items and we cannot accept perishable items from individuals or groups.
We are in constant need of the non-perishable items listed above. Some groups even do specialty food drives (like “can the fourth graders collect more boxes of macaroni and cheese than the fifth graders?”) which work out really well.
Of course, people donate other things than appear on the small list above. So what do we do with those? Well, we can use some things – like bags of rice or cans of beans – for the meals we prepare at the Soup Kitchen and for Meals on Wheels. Dave’s chili is a weekly favorite at the Soup Kitchen.Donations of “snack” foods – like granola bars or cookies or crackers – usually end up at the Drop-In center where our homeless clients enjoy them as an afternoon snack.
And what do we do with the really odd-ball stuff like 15 year old bottles of hot sauce or half-empty jars of peanut butter? Well…often we throw them away. That’s right. I said it. Please don’t give us gross stuff that’s been sitting in your pantry since 1972.
So there you have it. You know what we need. Now all you have to do now is go out and organize a food drive.
And what do we do with the really odd-ball stuff like 15 year old bottles of hot sauce or half-empty jars of peanut butter? Well…often we throw them away. That’s right. I said it. Please don’t give us gross stuff that’s been sitting in your pantry since 1972.
So there you have it. You know what we need. Now all you have to do now is go out and organize a food drive.
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