As the weather warms up, many of us are eager to head to the farmers’ market for delicious local produce. But did you know that farmers’ markets are also a great source of fresh food for our neighbors in need? Gleaning teams collect unsold food to donate for hunger relief — and thanks to these volunteers, the NEEDS pantry receives fresh produce all summer long!
You can help by joining the Montgomery Market team! Contact Sue Plummer at the Society of St. Andrew to learn more.
In 2023, NEEDS served an unprecedented number of families — and ran out of freezer space to store enough food for our clients. The Freestore Foodbank, whose mission is to fight hunger in the tristate area, generously provided a new freezer for the pantry to use.
Pantry coordinators Janie and Maureen shared this note of thanks to our partners at the Freestore:
“Thank you for purchasing a freezer for the NEEDS food pantry. We certainly needed it! As you can see in the second picture below, it’s already fully utilized. The number of families visiting our pantry in 2023 was double the neighbors we served two years ago. With that increase, we needed more freezer capacity. This new freezer is a TRUE BLESSING!!!
Please share our thanks with the Freestore team. We appreciate the ability to get food and household products at a reduced price and to get items that we need to run our pantry efficiently.
The volunteers and the people we serve thank you for your service to our community.”
Millions of American families rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to afford food and other essentials. During the COVID-19 crisis, qualifying families received extra funds (known as an “emergency allotment”) each month. Those funds have now been stopped.
According to a recent NPR article, SNAP participants will see an average decrease of $82 per month, with some households losing as much as $250 in assistance per month. But food prices continue to rise – as we can all see each time we visit the grocery store. For our neediest neighbors – from working parents to the elderly to those with disabilities – this reduction in SNAP benefits may make it difficult, if not impossible, to afford basic necessities.
You can help! NEEDS provides emergency food and financial assistance to over a thousand families each year. Visit https://cincyneeds.org/donate-volunteer to learn more about how you can join us in meeting the needs of our community.
The NEEDS annual report for 2022 is now available! The past year saw a steep increase in our community’s need for emergency food and financial assistance. As food prices go up and SNAP benefits drop back to pre-pandemic levels, this trend will almost certainly continue in 2023.
NEEDS remains grateful to the churches, corporate sponsors, and individual donors who enable us to meet our community’s growing needs!
October 5 and 6, 2019 was the WE CAN food collection weekend at Montgomery Community Church on Montgomery road. The church donates non-perishable food to NEEDS 4 times a year!
Thank you to Montgomery Community Church and to Sarah Bowman for heading this up!
If your church would like to organize a food collection for NEEDS, please contact our Food Pantry Director Maureen Flanagan at m2flanagan@aol.com.
Montgomery Community van loaded with donations for NEEDS
There are so many ways we can combat poverty and hunger in Cincinnati. Donations of food and finances are wonderful. Time volunteering is another great help.
NEEDS is in need of a volunteer to compose blog posts for our website and Facebook pages. You will provide a very valuable service helping us communicate our services to families in north east Cincinnati.
This position can be done from home and might take 1-2 hours a week. Attending monthly board meetings (fourth Monday of the month in the evening in Kenwood, Ohio) is highly encouraged as well so you are aware of the events and news to share on our website and social media.
Some knowledge of WordPress, our website platform, and Facebook would be helpful, but we can train you.
If you are interested or know someone who might be, please contact NEEDS current website editor Carol Topp at CincyNEEDSTreasurer@gmail.com.
NEEDS is a Community Partner with Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank Emergency feeding organizations such as NEEDS are working with Freestore Foodbank to help give hope to those who need it most.
This partnership allows NEEDS to purchase food, produce, dairy and meat items for free or at greatly reduced cost. This means that our donation dollars get stretched further and we can offer more emergency financial assistance to families in Northeast Cincinnati.
Together, NEEDS and the Freestore Foodbank fight hunger and help bring hope to those who need it most.
NEEDS provides food, personal care items and emergency financial assistance to individuals and families in northeast Cincinnati.
Our office hours and pantry are open Tuesday and Thursday 9 am -1 pm. at
