April saw a sharp increase in requests for both food and emergency financial assistance. More than a dozen new families visited the NEEDS pantry for food, and requests for financial aid doubled!
Here are the latest totals:
During the month of April, the NEEDS pantry provided food to 173 families – for a total of 588 people!
NEEDS also provided emergency financial assistance to 16 families, distributing $5398.00 to cover housing and utilities.
The NEEDS pantry relies on community donations to provide food and household supplies to our neighbors in need. But not everyone has time in their busy schedules to shop for and drop off donations.
Enter our newest way to give: Amazon Wish List! Just like a wedding or baby registry, the NEEDS gift list enables you to select the items you would like to give and have them shipped directly to the pantry. The list is kept up to date with the pantry’s most-needed items — and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, shipping is free! It’s a simple and convenient way to help meet needs in our community.
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
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.
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.
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.”