Each year, NEEDS looks forward to the St. Xavier High School food drive, which helps to replenish the pantry shelves for the busy holiday season. This year’s drive was so successful that our pantry coordinators said it took an army of volunteers to put everything away!

They shared this letter to the families and faculty who participated in the drive:

“Thank you AGAIN for another successful food drive! We are honored each year to be one of the beneficiaries of this outstanding event. It was so impressive to see the enthusiasm and involvement of all the students as they filled our truck with load after load of food.    

As grocery prices remain high, families are struggling. This year the NEEDS pantry will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago. It is challenging to keep up with the demand.   

This is one of the biggest donations we receive. Please thank all the students, their parents and your staff who work so hard to make this a success. It’s great to see these young men involved in community service. It instills a giving spirit that carries on, as evidenced by St. X alum Tom Young ’57 who helps pick up and deliver the goods to our pantry every year.  

Please know that you are truly making a difference in the lives of many of our neighbors. The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you.”

Our pantry coordinators shared this note to the families and faculty of Indian Hill High School:

“Thank you so much for collecting food for the NEEDS pantry. You did a great job of donating the items we needed the most – especially all the paper goods! We’d like to thank Michelle Shafer for coordinating the effort.  

As grocery prices remain high, families are struggling. This year the NEEDS pantry will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago! We are being challenged to keep up with the demand. We rely on donations from schools, churches and businesses to meet the need. Please know that the food you collected will benefit our less fortunate neighbors in the community where you live. 

The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you! We look forward to continuing our partnership next year.”

Pantry coordinators Maureen and Janie shared this story of holiday generosity from a local middle school:

“The NEEDS pantry volunteers were in the midst of their pre-Thanksgiving rush — filling orders and quickly depleting shelves — in an effort to help our less fortunate neighbors have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Quite out of the blue, one of the teachers at Linden Grove Middle School pulled through our drive-through in a vehicle filled with all the holiday trimmings.

How did that happen?  In tried and true teacher fashion, faculty at the school made their drive for NEEDS a competition among students.

Students and their families responded by giving the pantry the perfect holiday items for the families we serve. Thank you so much, Linden Grove Middle School!”

Many families who come to NEEDS for assistance live in the Silverton area. Our pantry coordinators were thrilled to receive a surprise donation from Silverton Cafe, a local business eager to help their neighbors in need! Maureen and Janie shared this letter to Silverton Cafe’s Nick Heidelberg:

“On behalf of everyone here at North East Distribution Services (NEEDS), we’d like to thank you for your surprise — and very generous — donation to our food pantry. The many items you donated will be a big help in meeting the food emergency needs of our less fortunate neighbors this holiday season.

It was interesting to learn that you are a friend of St. Vincent Ferrer School’s principal. As you probably know, both the school and the parish have been big supporters of NEEDS. And you’re even an alum yourself! Growing up in this area, and now running a business here as well, we’re sure that you are aware of the rising numbers of those facing food insecurity here. The 45236 zip code is by far the busiest of our service areas.

Again, our thanks for your generosity and all our best to you for a blessed and happy holiday season!”

Pantry coordinator Maureen shared this story of unexpected generosity:

“The NEEDS pantry received a surprise gift just after Thanksgiving this year. The first day we were open after the holiday was a busy one, and our volunteers were tired at the end of the service day. Just after we closed, the Latin Club at Madeira High School called saying they wanted to deliver donations they’d collected for NEEDS. Unplanned and unexpected, the donation would help us restock after the holiday.

The ‘donations’ turned out to fill three carts — and included items in all of our needed categories. The three students who delivered them were enthusiastic, filling us in on the Latin Club and taking an interest in the workings of the pantry.

A warm NEEDS thank you to all of the members of the Madeira High School Latin Club who contributed!”

There are many ways to help NEEDS provide food and emergency financial assistance to our struggling neighbors. Food drives, financial donations, volunteer service — all are deeply appreciated as we work to keep up with increasing needs in our community.

The NEEDS pantry coordinators shared this letter to the staff of PLK Communities, who recently joined us for a service day:

“Thank you so much for including NEEDS in your service day program. The team that volunteered was awesome!!! They helped us label and stock food that we had brought in from the FreeStore and helped flatten plastic bags that we use for packing. Many thanks to Nyssa, Bella, Alexis, Brandon, Alicia, and Eric for their hard work.

This year the NEEDS pantry will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago! We also help neighbors with emergency rent and utility bills. We are being challenged to keep up with the demand. We rely on donations from schools, churches, and businesses to meet the need.

The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you!”

One of NEEDS’ newest donors is St. Vincent Ferrer School. Families and faculty at the school organized a drive for the NEEDS pantry, assigning each grade to contribute some of the pantry’s most-needed items. Pantry coordinator Janie shared this letter of thanks:

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for organizing a food drive for the NEEDS Pantry. You did a GREAT job of collecting what we needed to restock our pantry. We loved the approach of having each grade focus on a few of our most-needed items as it made it easier to put away and helped us build our inventory.  

This is the first time SVF collected for NEEDS and it was a huge success. Many thanks to Theresa Morman for reaching out. The students were so excited about helping load the car and they filled it to the roof! It’s so heart-warming to see students getting involved with community service at a young age. 

As grocery prices remain high, families are struggling. This year the NEEDS pantry will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago! We are being challenged to keep up with the demand. We rely on donations from schools, churches and businesses to meet the need. Please know that the food you collected will benefit people in the community where you live. 

The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you! We look forward to continuing our partnership in the years ahead.”