New Beginnings Church to hold monthly food distributions
NORWICH – Last year, over 79,000 pounds of food – with a value of over $75,000 – was distributed by God’s Provision Food Pantry at the New Beginnings Church. On Friday, the organization will hold its first food distribution of 2011, from 5 to 7 p.m. at its 15 Silver St. location.
Pantry Coordinator Anne Walters said the organization was informed years ago by the Food Bank of Central New York that mass food distributions were one of the most effective ways of getting food to those in need. With the recent recession, the number of families seeking extra help has only increased, she added.
“We’ve hosted mass food distributions for over 12 years now, holding four to six of them throughout the year,” said Walters. “Due to the extremely bad economy, we made a commitment a year ago to the community to hold distributions every month.”
In the last year, Walters said she’d seen growing numbers of people who’ve never had to rely on food pantries for assistance before – from laid-off professionals to two-income households that have lost one income and been unable to replace it.
The organization, which typically served between 200 and 250 families at a mass food distribution, is now seeing over 300 families on a monthly basis.
“This is an entirely new group of people that we’re seeing, many of whom have lost good jobs, both full and part time,” added Walters. “This is a hard time for everyone and I’m hearing a lot of new stories.”
The food pantry has also expanded on the services it will provide, including the Exchange Table, where people can exchange unwanted items for something they might find useful. It’s simply a matter of “one person’s junk” being “another person’s treasure,” said Walters, although she noted that all items must be clean and no clothing will be accepted.
Due to the extreme increase in demand for its services over the past year, the pantry has utilized the majority of its funding. To address that, Walters reported the organization will hold a can and bottle drive at its April 15 distribution. At the May 20 distribution, pantry volunteers will hand-out fresh produce in addition to vegetable, strawberry and herb plants.
In addition, the organization is kicking-off its Every Penny Counts Campaign, an opportunity for people to donate the change in their pocket to aid in the pantry’s efforts, said Walters. Collection jars will be on display at the pantry’s monthly distributions, she added.
“We’ve begun this campaign in order to continue serving the community at the level that we currently are,” said Walters. “We can often purchase discounted goods from the Food Bank of Central New York for as little as seven cents per pound, so the pennies we collect will benefit the pantry, and the community, greatly.”
Those wishing to help out the organization can also utilize the Yahoo-powered online search engine known as Good Search while browsing the Internet. Every time they do so, Walters said a penny would be donated to the pantry.
God’s Provision Food Pantry at the New Beginnings Church hosts its food distributions on the third Friday of every month throughout the spring, summer and fall months. Visits to the pantry are also available by appointment. For more information contact Anne Walters at 226-1739.
Pantry Coordinator Anne Walters said the organization was informed years ago by the Food Bank of Central New York that mass food distributions were one of the most effective ways of getting food to those in need. With the recent recession, the number of families seeking extra help has only increased, she added.
“We’ve hosted mass food distributions for over 12 years now, holding four to six of them throughout the year,” said Walters. “Due to the extremely bad economy, we made a commitment a year ago to the community to hold distributions every month.”
In the last year, Walters said she’d seen growing numbers of people who’ve never had to rely on food pantries for assistance before – from laid-off professionals to two-income households that have lost one income and been unable to replace it.
The organization, which typically served between 200 and 250 families at a mass food distribution, is now seeing over 300 families on a monthly basis.
“This is an entirely new group of people that we’re seeing, many of whom have lost good jobs, both full and part time,” added Walters. “This is a hard time for everyone and I’m hearing a lot of new stories.”
The food pantry has also expanded on the services it will provide, including the Exchange Table, where people can exchange unwanted items for something they might find useful. It’s simply a matter of “one person’s junk” being “another person’s treasure,” said Walters, although she noted that all items must be clean and no clothing will be accepted.
Due to the extreme increase in demand for its services over the past year, the pantry has utilized the majority of its funding. To address that, Walters reported the organization will hold a can and bottle drive at its April 15 distribution. At the May 20 distribution, pantry volunteers will hand-out fresh produce in addition to vegetable, strawberry and herb plants.
In addition, the organization is kicking-off its Every Penny Counts Campaign, an opportunity for people to donate the change in their pocket to aid in the pantry’s efforts, said Walters. Collection jars will be on display at the pantry’s monthly distributions, she added.
“We’ve begun this campaign in order to continue serving the community at the level that we currently are,” said Walters. “We can often purchase discounted goods from the Food Bank of Central New York for as little as seven cents per pound, so the pennies we collect will benefit the pantry, and the community, greatly.”
Those wishing to help out the organization can also utilize the Yahoo-powered online search engine known as Good Search while browsing the Internet. Every time they do so, Walters said a penny would be donated to the pantry.
God’s Provision Food Pantry at the New Beginnings Church hosts its food distributions on the third Friday of every month throughout the spring, summer and fall months. Visits to the pantry are also available by appointment. For more information contact Anne Walters at 226-1739.
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