June 6-12 will be CPC's annual food drive week. We'll begin the week by dropping leaflets on all our neighbors' doors. We'll end the week by collecting food from our neighbors and bringing it to the church. Didn't get a leaflet? Bring your food offering by CPC on Saturday, June 12 between 10 and 3. Don't live near Malverne? Join us by making a donation to your local food pantry or soup kitchen.Here is why we do this:
On the phone today I talked with a neighbor, a well respected leader in Nassau County, where budget cuts by her employer reduced her job from full time to part time. Her husband had a stroke, leaving her the only wage earner. She is afraid she's going to loose her house. She may very well be a client at the Long Island Council of Church's Freeport Food Pantry.
Julie is a client. She works full time in an accounting office. She drives a new car, which she could not afford. The car, and other choices made during an addiction fueled out of control life, left her in debt and struggling to pay her bills. Now she's getting help for her addiction, paying down her debt and retaking control of her life. The food pantry helps her stretch her pay checks; its staff provide moral support and counsel.
Combine the stories and you get the statistics.
In 2008, the LICC Food Pantry served 3642 households. In 2009, almost 1,000 more. These households contained 13,000 individuals. Half were children. Six percent were senior citizens. The remaining adults were mostly employed, or recently laid off. Every month an additional 50 to 100 individuals come to the pantry who have never asked for assistance before.
CPC's annual food drive seeks to stock the pantry before the summer season, when donations drop off and the lack of free or reduced cost school meals increases the strain on family grocery budgets. To help, bring some of the below items to the church on Saturday, June 12 between 10 and 3.
Here is what the Food Pantry needs most to meet this increased need:
- Canned Vegetables (low salt)
- Soup (low salt/low fat)
- Canned fruit and 100% Fruit Juice (not fruit drink)
- Pasta, Rice Canned Beans
- Complete Pancake Mix
- Oatmeal, Grits, Dry Cereal (non/low sugar)
- Canned tuna/chicken/Salmon (in water) Canned Stew
- Nuts (low salt), Peanut Butter/Jelly
- Dry Milk/Parmalat
- Shampoo, Soap, Toiletries
- Clean, gently-used clothing
- diapers (all sizes), Enfamil formula, baby cereal, baby wipes and powder.
Life in Difficult Times - How to Make It Through is a series of pod casts produced by the LICC that both inform those in need on how to get help and educate about the best ways to help. The series of three podcasts are available for $1.25 each by clicking the link above.
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