In donating to a food pantry like that of NEEDS, it’s often hard to know what’s needed most. Of course, our pantry will use anything that’s donated.
However, when organizations do ask about best options, we often recommend gift cards for local grocery stores. They allow us to buy what’s needed at the moment, track local prices, and buy when things are on sale.
For the second year in a row, Good Shepherd Catholic parish put grocery gift cards on their Advent giving trees. This year, their appeal resulted in an amazing donation of gift cards that was immensely appreciated. Similarly, Everything But the House (EBTH) donated Kroger gift cards. The Montgomery Woman’s Club also chose to donate grocery gift cards.
To be clear, the NEEDS pantry will accept any and all donations! Gift cards are just one easy and effective way to donate.
Before their holiday break, students at Madeira Middle School held a food drive to benefit NEEDS. Our pantry coordinators shared this note of appreciation:
“Thank you so much for your donation to the NEEDS pantry in December. You did a great job of collecting so many of the items we needed to help our families during the holiday season. We loved seeing the enthusiasm of the students as they helped us load the car. It’s so special to see young people involved in community service. We’d like to add our special thanks to Ms. Kara Foley for coordinating this effort.
The NEEDS pantry has been in operation for over 40 years, operating out of Kenwood Baptist Church. The number of families we serve each year has more than doubled in the past four years. As a 100% volunteer and donation-run organization, we rely on contributions from schools, churches, and businesses to operate. We appreciate your efforts to help the less fortunate in our community.”
During the last month of 2025, NEEDS provided food and emergency financial assistance to more than 200 families — bringing our total for the year to over 8000 individuals served!
You can help us keep meeting our neighbors’ emergency needs! Click HERE to donate today. Thank you!
Each month, members of Montgomery Community Church participate in “Second Saturday Serve” — a food and product drive to benefit local organizations. In December, the church collected a generous donation for the NEEDS pantry! We are so grateful for MCC’s ongoing support.
Our pantry coordinators shared, “The family that brought the donation was upbeat and generous with their time. It was a joy to have them ask to tour the pantry. We look forward to continuing to partner with MCC in the New Year!”
Want to help stock the pantry? Click HERE to learn more!
The NEEDS pantry provided food to more than 7000 people in 2025. You can help stock the shelves for 2026 by donating some of our most-needed items from the list below!
Home and Personal Care: Women’s Depends (or generic; sizes L, XL) Toilet paper Paper towels
Donations can be dropped off at Kenwood Baptist Church, either at the drive-through during our open hours (Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-1:00), or in the marked boxes at each entrance. Prefer to order online? Click HERE for more options. Thank you!
Church of the Saviour is one of NEEDS’ member organizations. During the Christmas season, the church’s Wednesday Bible study group joined forces to make a generous cash donation to NEEDS, trusting volunteers to use the money where it is most needed.
As our pantry coordinators note, “The last months of 2025 have been hard ones for the less fortunate members of our community. The cutoff of SNAP benefits drove even more families to seek emergency food support from our pantry. In fact, the numbers of those seen rose by 50%. SNAP benefits have just recently been reinstated, and our families are also facing an imminent increase in health insurance costs.” We are so grateful for each donation that helps us to serve our neighbors!
