| MISSION | VISION | CALLING: |
| New Life Emergency Food Cupboard allows us to put our faith into action by feeding our neighbors who live with hunger in the 14607, 14610 & 14620 zip codes. |
| WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? |
| 4/12/2024 The demand for food continues to grow, serving ten households in one morning this week. Congregation Beth Sholom made a surprise donation of pasta this week some of which went out the door the same morning. We are fortunate to now be supported by Tops Markets, that lets us pick up dry goods, frozen items and refrigerated food each week. Clients especially love the additional choices and quantity of food they can receive. Foodlink, also, has provided extra line of credit grants such as a Member Appreciation Grant and another grant from United Way in addition to our NYS HPNAP grant. We appreciate Judy Wandtke’s volunteer shopping service for us, but she is currently getting a break since we have so much support. We got another A rating upon Foodlink’s inspection. It is so rewarding to see a switch flip on someone’s face from the desperation of not knowing where their next meal is coming from to the peace of being able to eat again for awhile. Thanks to all who support this AOF that the community definitely needs. 04/08/23 This South Presbyterian Church Act of Faith serves those in need of food; living in the 14620, 14610 and 14607 zip codes, or more upon request, usually open the 2nd,4th, and 5th Thursdays 9:30 to noon. Our service made a dramatic improvement in early spring, when Congregation Beth Sholom offered us a former apartment in the same building. This space includes a refrigerator, separate entrance and consolidated space so that we can offer a shopping experience to our clients and all food stored in cupboards, not on open shelves. It is also more efficient reducing our volunteer needs from 3 to 2 people each time. Our Foodlink inspector approved and gave us an A rating. The economic downturn increased the need and our numbers served. We served 48 different people including 12 children and 8 seniors. Once we could offer shopping, each household could choose the number of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains according to quantities established by Foodlink by household size. We also offer choices of beverages, soups, miscellaneous food items and personal care items beyond Foodlink’s recommendations. Each household is eligible to come once a month. We averaged 5 visitors and 2 volunteers each of the 27 times we were open. With repeat visits for 3 meals a day, 3-day supplies, and holiday dinners wish list items, this accumulated to 2600 meals provided in 2022, a 58% increase over 2021! Our visitors included: many who experienced surgeries and hospitalizations, a victim of identity and major financial theft, three homeless young men, several with disabilities, a recovering alcoholic, and an Afghan family who we supported at Christmas with a Burlington gift card. Our food comes from three main sources: our Foodlink membership (which includes food covered by USDA grants, NYS HPNAP grants, federal stimulus funds, and the United Way), from our New Life Food Cupboard Fund, and from our generous members and friends of South Presbyterian Church and Congregation Beth Sholom. Many thanks to our Deacons for rounding up more supplies this holiday season, and taking up a collection to help our Afghan family. We welcome non-perishable donations from other sources, as well. Our work force came from our two steadfast volunteers. Others have offered to volunteer including someone from Congregation Beth Sholom. An additional collaboration with the temple was Nechie’s Food cupboard, a posted cupboard in the front yard for those to take or donate canned items. We provided some canned goods and they passed along donations to us not appropriate for an outdoor box. It was short lived when it was run over by a stolen car, but will hopefully return in better weather. A pleasant surprise that we discovered is that being a small food cupboard means we have the luxury of actually exceeding Foodlink’s quantity guidelines and providing personal customized contact which feels more like sharing God’s love. 10/10/22 As the fall season gets underway, we are gearing up for the holidays. If you want to make donations (of food or money), please use the CONTACT US tab above and work through the church office in arranging those. The need continues to grow. 07/19/22 NEW SPACE IS OPEN AND NEW FOLKS ARE FINDING US! The pictures are of our new space at Congregation Beth Sholom. The expanded space now allows clients the opportunity to shop for themselves. Also, new next time will be the availability of frozen items, because the apartment has a refrigerator. We are also excited to have a few new clients, and we are partnering more with the Congregation. Neither COVID-19, Delta nor Omicron kept us from maintaining our regular hours throughout the year, with masks, outdoor service, and a few deliveries. Surprisingly we, again, saw a decrease in numbers served instead of an expected increase in numbers until December when it picked up. Congregation Beth Sholom continued to graciously host the New Life Food Cupboard 26 times in 2021 and provided storage for our food in between open dates. In 2021, we served 34 different people including 9 children and 6 seniors. We assembled a 3-day supply of dry goods for each of the 17 households each visit. Quantities depend on Foodlink’s household size guide lines. Each household is eligible to come once a month. We averaged 4 visitors and 3 volunteers each time we were open. With repeat visits and 3 meals a day, 3 day supplies, holiday dinner wish list items, this amounted to 1,512 meals provided in 2021. Our food comes from three main sources: our Foodlink membership (which includes food covered by USDA grants, NYS HPNAP grants, federal stimulus funds, and the United Way), from our New Life Food Cupboard Fund, and from our generous members and friends of South Presbyterian Church. Many thanks to our Deacons for rounding up more supplies this holiday season. We welcome non-perishable donations from other sources, as well. The New Life Food Cupboard is open year-round with the schedule above. If you would like to volunteer or make a contribution to support our work, you may either CONTACT or DONATE on the tabs above. |
