Food Pantry Update!
March 29th, 2008 | UncategorizedThis week we learned that our food pantry has finally qualified for membership in New York City’s Emergency Food Assistance Program and we were also accepted as a member of the NY Food Bank. This means that we are an official food pantry!
We will receive our first drop-off of food from the Food Bank this week, which is just in time since we were running quite low on our inventory.
Thank you to the many countless people who have helped with this effort. Indeed, good things are happening all around us.
We’re still in need of volunteers and would welcome anyone who might be interested in raising funds for this important community effort.
Thank You to the New York Times
February 22nd, 2008 | UncategorizedThe New York Times has done a fabulous job of telling the story of the church’s food pantry and dinner program. The article is online now, and will appear in Sunday’s City Section. there’s also a great write-up on the paper’s blog.
Last week someone noted that our work together is a “smashing success.” Yes, we’re able feed a lot of people. But one of the best moments in the last few months was introducing the Times reporter to those sharing the meal. It felt amazing to be affirmed by having this story in the paper. But it was far more exciting to affirm the folks who enjoy our hot meals by noting that they are as much a part of this success as anyone else. Together, the volunteers, the donors and all who partake of the meals are successful. None of us could do it without the others.
And now we have a great opportunity to include new friends in this great endeavor as we welcome readers of the Times to our website. Feel free to join us on Wednesdays for a meal, or volunteer some of your time. For those who would like to donate to this effort, you can donate online. Currently, we’re in need of new plastic tables. We’re also saving up to rehab the kitchen. You can’t quite see it in the photo, but our stove is from 1942 and the rest of the kitchen is about as old as the stove. Building an industrial kitchen would allow us to cook additional food, and help the program expand, hopefully to being open more days.
Wednesdays: Food Pantry/Dinner Program Update
February 19th, 2008 | Uncategorized
After much hard work, we’ve made it half way through the month of February! That means in a few weeks our food programs have been up and running for four months. We almost done with the process of applying to participate in the food bank system.
At a gathering last month, food program several volunteers committed to taking the required NYC food prep class, others offered to give our kitchen the deep cleaning it so needs, and a handful are now working on fundraising and writing grants.
Many of you have wondered, just who volunteers at the food pantry and soup kitchen? Several of the folks are members of our church, but far more are concerned neighbors who are looking for a way serve their community. Our volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds. Several have no faith life, others grew up in a church, but do not participate any more. Some are Catholic, others are Jewish, and some are Protestant. Many heard about the program through local newspaper coverage or via a neighborhood blog. A lot of folks first came because they are friends with someone else who volunteers.
If you’re interested in helping, feel free to show up Wednesdays between 4pm and 7pm. For those of you who work late, we still need folks at 7pm to help clean up - your aid would be very much appreciated.
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