Category: Stories

January Impact


NEEDS served a record number of families in 2023 – and with the first month of 2024 behind us, it looks like our community’s need will be just as great in the coming year.

Here are the latest numbers:

During the month of January, the NEEDS pantry provided food to 196 families – for a total of 686 people!

NEEDS also provided emergency financial assistance to 10 families, distributing $3444.00 to cover housing and utilities.

To learn more about how you can help our neighbors in need, visit https://cincyneeds.org/donate-volunteer/ .

Thank You, Freestore Foodbank!


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.”

Learn more about how you can help meet the needs of our neighbors here: https://cincyneeds.org/donate-volunteer/

Current Pantry Needs


As we start the new year, the pantry is critically in need of two items: boxed cereal and laundry detergent. If you can only donate two items, please choose these! Other much-needed items are listed below.

Donations can be dropped off at Kenwood Baptist Church during our open hours (Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-1:00). If you would like to arrange a drop-off on another day, please call (513) 378-8767. Thank you!

Canned Food:
Salmon
Collard greens
Sweet potatoes / yams
Bean with bacon soup
Mandarin oranges

Other Nonperishable Food:
Hamburger and Tuna Helper
Packaged pasta side dishes
Packaged rice mixes

Home and Personal Care Items:
Paper towels
Toilet paper
Baby wipes
Women’s Depends (sizes S/M)

2023 Impact


Even with a holiday closure, the NEEDS pantry provided food to more than 500 people in December, including 17 new families. NEEDS also responded to numerous requests for emergency financial assistance.

Here are the latest numbers:

During the month of December, the NEEDS pantry provided food to 155 families – for a total of 565 people. In 2023, the pantry served a total of 2024 families and 6987 people!

NEEDS also provided emergency financial assistance to 17 families in December, distributing $5531.00 to cover rent and utilities. In 2023, NEEDS provided a total of $73,748.00 in emergency housing and utilities assistance to 189 families!

During the past year, NEEDS has seen both unprecedented need in our community and amazing generosity from our donors and volunteers. Thank you to everyone who made this impact possible!

Young Moms’ Groups Give to NEEDS


Pantry coordinator Maureen writes, “The NEEDS pantry has learned a thing or two about soliciting donations. It’s best to begin with those who most understand the need.

Pantry staff turned to Montgomery Community Church’s MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Good Shepherd Lutheran’s MOPS and MOMS members to ask for donations of feminine hygiene products — with resounding success! Each group generated a full SUV of products after hearing that such items aren’t covered by the SNAP benefits provided to low-income families. These items are expensive, and very difficult for the pantry to keep in stock. But thanks to these local moms, we’ll be able to offer them to our needy neighbors for months to come.”

Thank you, MOPS and MOMS!

Thank You, Mitchell!


It’s always exciting to see the youngest members of our community helping to serve those in need! Pantry coordinators Janie and Maureen shared this letter to Mitchell McEnaney, who organized a food drive in his neighborhood to benefit NEEDS:

“You are amazing! Once again you collected food for the NEEDS pantry at the holidays. This was your biggest donation, as it filled your mother’s car. We are so impressed at the effort you put into making this successful. You told us that you create a Canned Food Drive flyer, place it in your neighbors’ mailboxes, and then go back to collect the donations and deliver to the pantry. It is so impressive that you are serving needy families in your area at such a young age.

You are a great example to all of us. The NEEDS volunteers and the neighbors we serve thank you.”

Logan Symson’s Efforts Peak at Year’s End


Pantry coordinator Maureen shared this story of a high school student’s hard work and commitment to NEEDS:

“Logan Symson first contacted NEEDS in January 2022, asking if she could launch a monthly Foodshare program in her Amberley neighborhood to benefit the NEEDS pantry. She was a high school junior looking for a way to serve her neighbors in need. Her program started small, but has grown into a strong and steady support for the pantry.

At first, Logan relied on her neighbors to decide what to contribute. But her marketing grew more savvy and she soon asked each month for a list of our most needed items. As her junior year moved into her senior year, she involved her sister Hannah in her efforts — ensuring that when she herself left for college her efforts to support NEEDS would not end.

Logan really knocked it out of the park with her December 2023 delivery, which included so many of the things the pantry needed most. While her Foodshare program is an ongoing support, Logan is living proof to all of our NEEDS volunteers that members of the younger generation are willing and able to continue our own efforts. Thank you, Logan!”

Thank You, KBC Women’s Group!


NEEDS’ pantry coordinators shared this note to Becky Lockwood and her women’s group at Kenwood Baptist Church, who gave a thoughtful Christmas gift to NEEDS:

“On behalf of everyone here at North East Emergency Distribution Services (NEEDS), we’d like to thank you for your Bible study group’s surprise donation of diapers and paper goods. It was really touching to learn that members decided to give to NEEDS rather than one another at their holiday meeting.

Our pantry flies through our supply of toilet paper and paper towels, as nearly every family receives both. We never seem to have enough! And diapers are most appreciated as they are expensive for us to purchase on our own but essential to many families that we serve.

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

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