Just like the weather here in Cincinnati, the needs of our pantry are constantly shifting. You can make a donation to help us provide the items our neighbors need most!
This month’s top needs are laundry detergent, chicken and beef soups, and packaged dinners and side dishes (such as Hamburger Helper, Pasta Roni, and potato/rice mixes).
Other much-needed items are listed below.
Canned Food: Baked beans
Home and Personal Care Items: Deodorant (men’s and women’s) Paper towels Toilet paper Sanitary pads and tampons
Freestore Foodbank supports over 600 food pantries, soup kitchens, and other organizations in the tristate area — including NEEDS! You can join their fight against hunger by participating in the Hunger Walk and 5K this Memorial Day.
Register as part of the NEEDS team HERE, or form your own team! Funds raised will help NEEDS and other organizations provide food to our neighbors in need.
Want to support NEEDS – and win cash? The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon’s Piggest Raffle Ever is the perfect opportunity!
Simply visit piggestraffleever.com, choose NEEDS as your charity to support, and select the number of tickets (or “pigs”) you’d like to purchase. Each ticket is $5, and 100% of proceeds go directly to NEEDS.
On May 5, the grand prize winner will receive $5000 – with an additional $5000 awarded to their charity!
February was another busy month for NEEDS. The pantry provided food to nearly 200 families, and there was a large increase in requests for emergency financial assistance.
Here are the latest numbers:
During the month of February, the NEEDS pantry provided food to 194 families – for a total of 666 people!
NEEDS also provided emergency financial assistance to 15 families, distributing $5500.00 to cover housing and utilities.
Pantry coordinator Maureen shared this story of thoughtful generosity:
“The volunteers at the NEEDS pantry were told to expect a donation from the United Women of Faith from the Church of the Saviour, but they never could have expected two full carloads of items — all carefully loaded into new, reusable grocery bags. The bags themselves were a great donation, as our packers are continually running out of bags and boxes.
We were further amazed when we found out that NEEDS was just one of five pantries to which the group donated. What a tribute to the group’s dedication and generosity!”
NEEDS recently received a generous gift from a new donor: Thrivent, a financial services organization with ties to the Lutheran Church. Thrivent’s Tipp City agency donated $250 to help purchase some of the pantry’s most-needed items, including expensive feminine hygiene products. We are so grateful!
The Super Bowl may be over, but NEEDS continues to benefit from football-themed giving events! Pantry coordinator Maureen shared:
“Each year, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church marks Super Bowl weekend with what they’ve dubbed the Souper Bowl of Caring — a drive to support the NEEDS food pantry. The recent results were every bit as exciting as the big game itself, with over $1,800 donated in addition to a full carload of nonperishable food and personal/household supplies.
The church’s Tween Group provided the energy behind the drive. They collected, sorted, dated, and packed all of the items for delivery to the NEEDS pantry.
To spice things up a bit, the drive included a competition between three ‘soup pots’: Chiefs, 49ers and Taylor Swift. The winners were Taylor Swift and, of course, the NEEDS pantry. The funds and items collected will boost our ability to meet the emergency food needs of our less fortunate neighbors.”
Frame USA’s annual Fill the Truck campaign was another huge success this year! Pantry coordinator Maureen shared details:
“NEEDS was fortunate AGAIN to be one of the seven charities supported by this year’s Fill the Truck campaign — a charitable initiative of Frame USA. Fill the Truck has been the largest annual contributor to NEEDS for multiple years in a row.
This year, the campaign provided more than 30 very large boxes of nonperishable food and household supplies. But that — already a large donation — paled in comparison to the campaign’s check for $4,237.86. Both the actual items donated and the funding to purchase just what the pantry needs most will go far in our effort to meet the emergency needs of our less fortunate neighbors.
