One of NEEDS’ newest donors is St. Vincent Ferrer School. Families and faculty at the school organized a drive for the NEEDS pantry, assigning each grade to contribute some of the pantry’s most-needed items. Pantry coordinator Janie shared this letter of thanks:
“Thank you, thank you, thank you for organizing a food drive for the NEEDS Pantry. You did a GREAT job of collecting what we needed to restock our pantry. We loved the approach of having each grade focus on a few of our most-needed items as it made it easier to put away and helped us build our inventory.
This is the first time SVF collected for NEEDS and it was a huge success. Many thanks to Theresa Morman for reaching out. The students were so excited about helping load the car and they filled it to the roof! It’s so heart-warming to see students getting involved with community service at a young age.
As grocery prices remain high, families are struggling. This year the NEEDS pantry will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago! We are being challenged to keep up with the demand. We rely on donations from schools, churches and businesses to meet the need. Please know that the food you collected will benefit people in the community where you live.
The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you! We look forward to continuing our partnership in the years ahead.”
Each year, NEEDS holds a Student Assistance Drive to help provide school supplies and warm winter clothing to students in the Deer Park, Sycamore, and Princeton school districts. Teachers and administrators in these districts are keenly aware of how many families struggle to afford these necessities – so they were excited to receive gift cards enabling them to purchase exactly what their students need!
NEEDS is so grateful to the many donors who contributed to this year’s successful drive!
Pantry coordinator Janie shared this warm thank-you to the students, families, and faculty of Madeira Elementary School:
“WOW!!! You all knocked it out of the park this year, collecting 1500 items for the NEEDS food pantry. And on top of that, they were the items we had on our ‘most needed’ list. We were able to restock our shelves in preparation for Thanksgiving, which is such a blessing for our neighbors in need.
We love how your students get involved. Their energy is infectious. The 5th Grade Student Council leaders were excited to help us load the cars. They did a great job and their enthusiasm brightened our day. Many thanks to Roxanne Hurley for leading the effort and for doing such a great job of communicating with us.
As grocery prices remain high, families are struggling. This year we will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago! We are being challenged to keep up with the demand. We rely on donations from schools, churches, and businesses to meet the need. Please know that the food you collected will benefit people in the community where you live.
The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you! We look forward to continuing our partnership next year.
Happy Thanksgiving!! We have so much to be thankful for.”
Pantry coordinator Janie shared this grateful message to the families and faculty of Montgomery Elementary School:
“Thank you once again for your generous donation to the NEEDS Food Pantry. You collected 20 boxes of food items that helped us restock our shelves. You have been donating to NEEDS consistently for many years. Your commitment to helping the less fortunate in our area is impressive! Many thanks to Susan Linton for coordinating the food drive.
As grocery prices remain high, families are struggling. This year we will serve 2000 families which is double the number we served two years ago! We are being challenged to keep up with the demand. We rely on donations from schools, churches, and businesses to meet the need. Please know that the food you collected will benefit people in the community where you live.
The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you!”
This year, the Montgomery Farmers’ Market and the Society of St. Andrew have combated food waste while helping NEEDS to provide healthy produce for our clients. Pantry coordinator Maureen shared this story:
“The 2023 season at the Montgomery Farmers’ Market was an especially fruitful one for the NEEDS pantry. Vendors donated 5,343 pounds of fresh produce, bakery and prepared food — providing almost twice as much food for our needy neighbors as in 2022. On top of that, market customers were able to pick up NEEDS brochures and make cash donations.
The Society of St. Andrew, a national gleaning organization, made this all possible for NEEDS. Society members collect farmers’ market donations across the country, and even go into the field to help farmers harvest — all in an effort to end food waste. Locally, Sue Plummer is Ohio’s Program Coordinator. This is the second year NEEDS has been the beneficiary of her team’s work. During the first season, NEDEDS volunteers picked up at the market each week. But this year, the society partnered with Last Mile Food Rescue to transport the food to NEEDS.
A warm thank you to Sue and her team of gleaners. And here’s to another fulfilling year of partnership ahead!”
Pantry coordinator Maureen recently shared this story of holiday generosity from one of our faithful member organizations:
“Each year, the families of Kenwood Baptist Church gather to celebrate Thanksgiving as a church family. The meal is the traditional one of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and all the fixings. But the event extends so much further than the room itself.
This year, church members attending the dinner were asked to bring a donation of peanut butter and/or pasta sauce to help stock the NEEDS pantry for the busy holiday season ahead. And give they did! Offering bins were filled to the brim, and what was donated filled pantry shelves. In addition, holiday-themed notecards were placed on each table to be written to nursing home patients who weren’t able to join in the fellowship. Diners were also encouraged to post what they were most thankful for on a large Thanksgiving banner.
Kenwood Baptist Church provides the space in which the NEEDS pantry is located. But it does so much more to support the pantry’s efforts. Thank you, church members, for your generosity and support!”
Pantry coordinators Maureen and Janie shared another great story about young people helping in our community:
“The elementary school soccer players from All Saints and St. Vincent Ferrer parish schools do more than battle it out on the soccer field. They work hard to help their neighbors in need.
For three years now, the teams’ year-end celebration has included a drive to help stock the NEEDS pantry. Patrick Reardon, the league’s coordinator, takes care to contact the pantry each year for its list of most-needed items. This November, league volunteers delivered three carloads of donations — easily more than in the two preceding years.
We’re so grateful for all the effort by the teams’ volunteer staff members and players. Sportsmanship on steroids!”
Pantry coordinators Maureen and Janie shared this sweet story:
“Good Shepherd Lutheran Church has always been a faithful supporter of NEEDS and its food pantry. And now, even its littlest members are in on its efforts! The church’s well known preschool recently held a drive to help restock the NEEDS pantry. Michelle and Laurie, two of the school’s staff members, reached out to the pantry for our list of most-needed items and shared it with students’ families. The result? A full SUV of donations!
Beyond the value of the donations themselves, it’s gratifying to know that even the youngest among us are being taught to help their neighbors in need.
Thank you so much, Good Shepherd Lutheran Preschool!”
The feminine hygiene products that all women and their daughters need are not covered by SNAP benefits. But as most women know well, these products are expensive – and our donors rarely think to give them, so the NEEDS pantry has always had a hard time keeping them in stock.
Enter the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group at Montgomery Community Church. When coordinators Maggie Link and Brianna Hagen learned of the pantry’s need, they appealed to their members to donate. What NEEDS expected to be a modest donation turned out to be an entire SUV full of one of our most-needed items.
Thank you, MOPS members! You’ve done a lot to help less fortunate women and girls.
