In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the NEEDS food pantry is able to obtain many food items from the Freestore Foodbank at no charge. But for others, we must rely on donations. We’re currently most in need of:
Canned soup of all kinds Packaged side dishes (rice mixes, pasta dishes, stuffing, potato mixes) Canned pineapple Tomato (not pasta) sauce Paper towels Dish and laundry detergent Pump hand soap Deodorant (men’s and women’s)
Donations can be dropped off at Kenwood Baptist Church Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. NEEDS volunteers are at the church on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.
NEEDS also welcomes financial donations, which enable us to purchase both dry goods and perishable items like eggs, milk, cheese, butter, and vegetables. If you would like to support NEEDS with a donation, you can simply mail a check to the address below:
In order to provide food and emergency assistance to our clients, NEEDS relies heavily on donations from churches and other organizations. But as one regular donor demonstrates, individual contributors can also make a tremendous impact!
One of our most faithful donors is named Will. We don’t know his last name (he chooses not to share it), but we do know that he is an expert at maximizing discounts with coupons! Every few weeks, Will loads up his car with food for the NEEDS pantry, from cases of canned tomatoes and potatoes to more hot sauce than the average restaurant keeps on hand. And Will doesn’t just donate food – he also helps to supply personal care items like shampoo. Will even donates cases of feminine hygiene products, which are among the most expensive (and essential) items for the NEEDS pantry to stock. Will often says “This is the last time,” but he keeps coming back with much-needed food and supplies.
NEEDS is incredibly grateful to Will and the other donors who support us in meeting the needs of our community. Thank you!
Each year, NEEDS holds a school supply drive to provide students in the Princeton and Deer Park districts with the materials they need for successful learning. Over 70% of Princeton students and over 50% of Deer Park students rely on financial assistance from the school district and the government – and for many of these students, even the most basic supplies can be difficult to afford.
This year the need will likely be greater than ever, as many families have been impacted by COVID-related job loss and other challenges.
You can help us meet that need!
In order to provide supplies as safely as possible, NEEDS is collecting financial donations (including gift cards) to share with each school district. School officials will use these donations to purchase the supplies that their students need.
If you would like to contribute, simply mail a check (with “school supplies” in the memo line) to our address below. Gift cards for Kroger, Meijer, Walmart, Target, Staples, and Amazon are also welcome.
Or you can drop off your check or gift cards any time NEEDS is open in August and September (Tuesday and Thursdays 9 am to 1 pm.) at Kenwood Baptist Church.
If you belong to a NEEDS member church, please include the church’s name with your donation.
While all students face challenging adjustments in the upcoming school year, we can help to ease the stress for some of our community’s most acutely affected families.
June was a busy month for the NEEDS food pantry, as we continued to operate our drive-up service with great success.
Families served: 66 Individuals served: 246
Thank you to all of our volunteers and donors!
Starting in July, NEEDS will resume emergency financial assistance for clients who need help paying rent and utility bills. The pantry will remain open for drive-up service. We look forward to another impactful month!
For many high school students, summer vacation is an eagerly awaited opportunity to fulfill community service requirements. This is especially true for students at St. Ursula Academy, an East Walnut Hills school that champions service as a core value. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Ursula staff recently found creative ways to continue honoring the school’s commitment to service.
St. Ursula Academy usually provides funding to support a variety of student service activities. This summer, the academy generously donated a portion of those funds to supply the NEEDS pantry with its most urgently needed items. In addition, St. Ursula has placed NEEDS on their summer service list, encouraging students to meet service requirements by donating to NEEDS.
NEEDS is so grateful for the support of St. Ursula Academy this summer. Thank you!
For the past few months, most of us have done our best to protect our families by staying safely at home – only venturing out for essentials like food and medication. But what about the people in our community who don’t have safe homes?
Tamar’s Center, a shelter that cares for women struggling with addiction and exploitation, recently took action by installing a free hand washing center in Over the Rhine (https://www.wlwt.com/article/hand-washing-station-installed-in-over-the-rhine-to-keep-cincinnatis-homeless-safe-during-pandemic/32588058). Many Tamar’s Center clients are homeless and often go without basic toiletry items. To help support these clients, NEEDS has donated a large number of individual toiletries for Tamar’s Center to distribute. NEEDS donors generously share personal care items of all sizes; while large sizes are ideal for the families we serve, smaller sizes are perfect for the women who are served by Tamar’s Center. NEEDS is so grateful to be able to share with another wonderful organization.
As any parent can attest, the last few months of the school year were a chaotic time. Isolated from friends, and with routines totally disrupted, many students struggled to focus on schoolwork – especially as the year dwindled to a close, with no return to normalcy in sight. Impressively, the students of Archbishop Moeller High School made an effort to help others before wrapping up school for the summer, by organizing a multi-day food drive to benefit NEEDS and other organizations.
Under Moeller’s House System, students from all four grades are divided into communities that promote mentoring and leadership development. House System director Karen Matuszek challenged the houses to see which community could contribute the most food and personal care items. A convenient drive-through setup enabled Moeller families to drop off donations easily and safely. The results were phenomenal: several tables were completely covered with essential supplies!
NEEDS is so grateful to the Moeller House System for helping us to meet the needs of our clients during an incredibly stressful time. Thank you!
“A bucket brigade on a five-alarm fire.” According to a recent Time article (https://time.com/5825944/food-banks-coronavirus/), that’s how the Ohio Association of Foodbanks’ executive director describes the plight of food pantries across our state. Hit hard by the economic repercussions of COVID-19, countless people who never dreamed of seeking aid are turning to organizations like NEEDS in order to feed their families. It’s a challenge to keep pantry shelves stocked – and that’s why NEEDS is so grateful to the local businesses, churches, and individuals who are helping our pantry to stay open during crisis.
Recently, NEEDS received a generous donation of frozen meat from La Soupe (https://lasoupe.org/) – a Cincinnati organization that fights both waste and hunger by rescuing perishable food. The NEEDS freezer didn’t have enough space for the donation, so pantry coordinators Janie and Maureen reached out to the Community of the Good Shepherd for assistance. Less than an hour later, the donated meat was safely stored in the Good Shepherd parish’s industrial freezer. What a wonderful example of different groups each doing their part to support our community! Thanks to La Soupe’s generosity and Good Shepherd’s loan of freezer space, NEEDS can supply clients with much-needed food that would otherwise be wasted.
If you would like to support NEEDS, we welcome financial donations! Simply mail a check payable to NEEDS to: NEEDS c/o Kenwood Baptist Church 8341 Kenwood Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45236
Serving dozens of clients each week, the NEEDS pantry always relies on support from individuals and companies who care about their community. We are happy to highlight three partners who are helping us to continue serving our clients under extraordinary circumstances.
Trader Joe’s (https://locations.traderjoes.com/oh/cincinnati/669/): To ensure safety, the NEEDS pantry is now operating as a drive-through service. Volunteers pre-pack a variety of food and dry goods that clients can pick up and take home. Our local Trader Joe’s has donated the paper bags that volunteers use for packing groceries. Thank you to Trader Joe’s for helping to keep the pantry running smoothly!
JB Meats (36 Clinton Springs Ave, Cincinnati OH 45217): Even those of us who aren’t in financial straits may struggle to buy what we need during the COVID-19 crisis. It’s especially challenging for the NEEDS pantry to stock fresh food for our clients – so we are extremely grateful to JB Meats for providing delivery service! JB Meats is flexible and responsive to our changing needs, and they deliver regularly at a reasonable price. Thank you to JB Meats for being a strong and reliable partner!
Pet Supplies Plus (https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/Store/OH/Blue-Ash/Blue-Ash/218, https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/Store/OH/Cincinnati/Symmes/234): As unemployment rates skyrocket, many people are struggling to feed their families – not to mention their pets. Luckily, Pet Supplies Plus is here to help. In March, the Blue Ash store made NEEDS their charity of the month, donating enough pet food, treats, and toys to fill several SUVs. Meanwhile, the Harper’s Point store has invited NEEDS to stop by every two weeks to pick up whatever they have available to donate to our clients – and again, SUVs have been filled with donated pet supplies. Thank you to Pet Supplies Plus for meeting an often-overlooked need!
NEEDS recently joined the Freestore Foodbank ‘s The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) program.
This program allows NEEDS to purchase more food at no cost or very low cost including dairy, meat, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
This also means that NEEDS will be serving clients every 30 days (instead of every 60 days) during the COVID-19 crisis, and possibly beyond.
We are thrilled to offer our neighbors in North East Cincinnati food and personal care items on a more frequent basis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since opening drive-through pantry service three weeks ago, NEEDS has served 50 families – over 200 people!
NEEDS still appreciates financial donations of any amount. We hope to resume emergency financial assistance in the near future as Stay-at-Home restrictions in Ohio are released.
