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.
Pantry coordinator Maureen shared this story of ongoing generosity from a local student group:
“The Madeira High School Key Club was formed to give students opportunities to provide service within their community. To the great good fortune of NEEDS, our pantry has become the beneficiary of their efforts. Not only did they hold a drive for NEEDS in early February, it was one of many they have done to stock our pantry. The club’s advisor, teacher Julie Leugers, has even encouraged members to sort and date the items collected — making it far easier for our volunteers to shelve them within the pantry.
Beyond the items the club has collected over the years, our volunteers are most impressed that high school students can be so dedicated to helping the less fortunate members of their community.”
While many of us were getting ready for the big game on Sunday, Twin Lakes Senior Living Community had a different goal in mind: helping our neighbors in need!
Pantry coordinators Maureen and Janie shared:
“It was another touchdown event for NEEDS — a Super Bowl-themed drive to benefit our pantry held at the Twin Lakes Senior Living Community. The drive has almost become an annual event at this point.
In the week leading up to the Super Bowl, event coordinator Ashley Lamboy and her events partner coordinated a food and household drive. Collection tables in the community’s main building were festively decorated and residents were encouraged to drop off donations on their way to the dining room.
Residents were very generous, and their donations entirely filled an SUV. Their work done, the countdown began in earnest for the big game event.”
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.”
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!
