Even with a Thanksgiving closure, NEEDS served nearly as many families in November as in the previous month. More than 20 of these families were seeking assistance from NEEDS for the first time.
Here are the latest numbers:
During the month of November, the NEEDS pantry provided food to 203 families – for a total of 692 people!
NEEDS also provided emergency financial assistance to 16 families, distributing $5181.00 to cover rent and utilities.
Pantry coordinators Maureen and Janie shared this story of holiday generosity from a local middle school:
“The NEEDS pantry volunteers were in the midst of their pre-Thanksgiving rush — filling orders and quickly depleting shelves — in an effort to help our less fortunate neighbors have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Quite out of the blue, one of the teachers at Linden Grove Middle School pulled through our drive-through in a vehicle filled with all the holiday trimmings.
How did that happen? In tried and true teacher fashion, faculty at the school made their drive for NEEDS a competition among students.
Students and their families responded by giving the pantry the perfect holiday items for the families we serve. Thank you so much, Linden Grove Middle School!”
Many families who come to NEEDS for assistance live in the Silverton area. Our pantry coordinators were thrilled to receive a surprise donation from Silverton Cafe, a local business eager to help their neighbors in need! Maureen and Janie shared this letter to Silverton Cafe’s Nick Heidelberg:
“On behalf of everyone here at North East Distribution Services (NEEDS), we’d like to thank you for your surprise — and very generous — donation to our food pantry. The many items you donated will be a big help in meeting the food emergency needs of our less fortunate neighbors this holiday season.
It was interesting to learn that you are a friend of St. Vincent Ferrer School’s principal. As you probably know, both the school and the parish have been big supporters of NEEDS. And you’re even an alum yourself! Growing up in this area, and now running a business here as well, we’re sure that you are aware of the rising numbers of those facing food insecurity here. The 45236 zip code is by far the busiest of our service areas.
Again, our thanks for your generosity and all our best to you for a blessed and happy holiday season!”
Pantry coordinator Maureen shared this story of unexpected generosity:
“The NEEDS pantry received a surprise gift just after Thanksgiving this year. The first day we were open after the holiday was a busy one, and our volunteers were tired at the end of the service day. Just after we closed, the Latin Club at Madeira High School called saying they wanted to deliver donations they’d collected for NEEDS. Unplanned and unexpected, the donation would help us restock after the holiday.
The ‘donations’ turned out to fill three carts — and included items in all of our needed categories. The three students who delivered them were enthusiastic, filling us in on the Latin Club and taking an interest in the workings of the pantry.
A warm NEEDS thank you to all of the members of the Madeira High School Latin Club who contributed!”
There are many ways to help NEEDS provide food and emergency financial assistance to our struggling neighbors. Food drives, financial donations, volunteer service — all are deeply appreciated as we work to keep up with increasing needs in our community.
The NEEDS pantry coordinators shared this letter to the staff of PLK Communities, who recently joined us for a service day:
“Thank you so much for including NEEDS in your service day program. The team that volunteered was awesome!!! They helped us label and stock food that we had brought in from the FreeStore and helped flatten plastic bags that we use for packing. Many thanks to Nyssa, Bella, Alexis, Brandon, Alicia, and Eric for their hard work.
This year the NEEDS pantry will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago! We also help neighbors with emergency rent and utility bills. We are being challenged to keep up with the demand. We rely on donations from schools, churches, and businesses to meet the need.
The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you!”
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – a season of giving! You can help stock the NEEDS pantry by donating some of our most-needed items from the list 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!
Canned Food:
Salmon
Chicken
Soups (bean with bacon, clam chowder, beef varieties)
Collard greens
Sweet potatoes / yams
Mandarin oranges
Other Nonperishable Food:
Packaged potato and rice mixes
Boxed cereal
Home and Personal Care Items:
Laundry and dish detergent
Deodorant (men’s and women’s)
Shampoo
Toothbrushes
Pump hand soap
Women’s Depends (sizes S/M and XL)
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.”
