Weekly Update for January 21

FOOD SHORTAGES THIS WEEK

After the Food Pantry closed on Saturday, January 21st, the following items were in especially short supply:

• Macaroni & Cheese
• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Jelly
• Juices – small and large sizes
• Canned Tuna
• Canned Meat
• Cold Cereal
• Tea Bags

For a longer list of items of which we almost never have enough, click here.

Because of the increasing number of homeless guests, we especially need food items of any kind with pop top cans.

Other non-food Needs:

• Plastic Bags for food —– Sandwich Size or Quart Size Ziploc or similar brands
• Pens…….   they seem to disappear over time

Donations may be delivered directly to Druid Hills United Methodist Church, 1200 Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. Donations may be dropped off at the church office Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 3:30pm.

We welcomed 58 households to the pantry today, including 28 with reservations and 30 walk-ins.  We are especially grateful to volunteers from Morningside Presbyterian Church and Virginia-Highland Church for their assistance, and of course to this week’s Distribution Leader, Rich Fuss.

We thank all of you for your support throughout the year.  Without you, our food pantry could not operate. We encourage  congregations to find a way to communicate to members how their efforts make a real difference in the lives of those who come to the food bank weekly.   Please encourage your congregation’s members to come and visit the pantry.   We are also happy to visit with any group in your congregation to communicate about the work of the pantry.

Important Guest Information You Should Know

Last year the Food Pantry implemented a new policy in order to try to make sure that food is distributed as equitably as possible to all who have need.  Accordingly, guests ar now limited to two visits per month to the Food Pantry unless they are homeless, or have been approved by one of our participating pastors for more than two visits.  Food will be provided to walk-in guests only if they are first time visitors.  Walk-ins who wish to return will have to obtain a referral from one of our pastors.

We appreciate your service.    Intown Food Pantry works because of you.

Volunteers: Please Schedule Yourselves

There is more information and a link on the “Volunteer Here” page, but just to make things extra easy for you, if you’re already signed up as a volunteer and are familiar with the scheduling procedure, you can open the Volunteer Schedule Sheet and sign up for your shifts simply by clicking right here.  As we’ve said before, please sign up early and often. It will be enormously helpful to the volunteer coordinators to know who is planning to come well before Saturday arrives.  Many thanks!

Cash Donations

The food pantry welcomes donations of cash as well as food.  For more information, click on the “Donate” link on the left side of this page.

SEE NO WEEVIL

BUG ALERT!!! A few weeks ago we received a food delivery with some most unwelcome hitchhikers: a small army of weevils or similar critters — something no one wants to see when they open a box of oatmeal or a package of flour.  Not only was the original delivery contaminated, but a number of these bugs escaped and got into other food which had previously been delivered.  It took volunteers more than three hours to purge our food supply of these despicable varmints.  So PLEASE, if you are responsible for transferring food from a collection point to the pantry, make certain that all of it is pest-free before you deliver it.  It is probably inevitable that we will from time to time receive some contaminated donations, but it does not have to be inevitable that they make it onto our shelves.  Your vigilance can help prevent that.  Many thanks!

Welcome to the Food Pantry Info Exchange

Greetings Food Pantry Volunteer

We are happy that you have found your way to this site.  In the coming days and weeks, we will fine tune this site to make it an effective means of communications for the food pantry.

Your constant feedback is invited and will make our job a lot easier.  Please explore the entire site and give us your feedback:  Let us know via your comments

• what you feel is working
• what needs improvement
• what needs to be added
• what needs to be scrapped

This is a work in progress with many areas under construction.  Put on your hard hat, wander around, and let us know what you think.

If you are ready to volunteer, please don’t wait.  We need you on-board now.  Look at the job descriptions on the “Volunteer Here” page.  Then click on the link on the page which will take you to a form where you can sign up and indicate the role you wish to play.  If you’re not sure, there’s a place to indicate that, as well.  Just tell us, and someone will contact you to help you figure out the best fit.

Thanks for stopping by.  We look forward to serving the food pantry with you in the days to come.

–Your Communications Team