Donations accepted year-round at area pantries
By: Cara Latham
Thanksgiving dinner may only come once a year, but the need for donations to local food pantries is a yearlong necessity.
Still, local groups are organizing drives to stock up additional items for the holidays and others are preparing for those in need of help at this time of the year.
Susan Rosser, director of the Harvest of Hope food pantry inside the parish hall of the Rose of Sharon Lutheran Church in North Hanover, said the pantry currently has received about 32 of the estimated 60 turkeys it needs in time for Thanksgiving.
The pantry is still collecting Thanksgiving donations this week and is trying to fill up Thanksgiving baskets for the 65 families that have come to the food pantry since its opening in April.
The people who usually come to the pantry have expressed a need for Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets, and pantry workers hope to give out a turkey or ham, cranberry sauce, and stuffing in each basket. Ms. Rosser said that potatoes, carrots, and corn muffins have been donated by a local restaurant.
"We’re going to try to fill up the baskets as much as we can with traditional meals," said Ms. Rosser.
But last weekend, and for the past two weeks, the food pantry has seen an influx of donations, especially with food drives at the Clarence B. Lamb Elementary School in North Hanover, and the Chesterfield Baptist Church, which alone donated about 4,000 items.
"We’ve had an outpouring of love and generosity of people. It’s just absolutely amazing," said Ms. Rosser. "It was an answer to a prayer."
While the recent donations should be enough to supply the pantry with food through January, Ms. Rosser said the pantry can always use money or donations because "we could get another 10 families" who are in need of help and come to the pantry, she said.
She also said that the food pantry urges people in need, who often come to the pantry after their electricity has been shut off or they have been evicted, to do so before these situations could occur so that they can receive the proper help.
Right now, the pantry workers are worried that more of the families in need have stopped going to the grocery store to save money to fuel their cars.
Allentown United Methodist Church, which helped the pantry when it first opened, has also been helping out, she said.
The idea for the food pantry came when Pastor Robert Russell challenged his congregation and himself to think bigger, and help supply those in need year-round, Ms. Rosser said.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can call the pantry at (609) 758-3680, or stop by the church on Chesterfield-Jacobstown Road.
Students at Mansfield Elementary School also decided to get in the giving spirit and take things into their own hands.
Principal Joe Langowski said that every year, he chooses one boy and one girl from each of the sixth-grade homerooms to meet with him and talk about community service options.
This year, one of the students came up with the idea to hold their own food drive, where the food was then sent to the food pantry at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bordentown.
The food drive became a contest for each grade level, where students would chart how many items members from each grade brought in. So far, they have collected about 1,000 items, Mr. Langowski said.
According to Rosemarie Harris, secretary at St. Mary’s food pantry, donations are collected all year. Churches, schools, and Boy Scout and Girls Scout troops "devise their own way in each church (to collect), but they’re very generous," she said.
"We exist through the generosity of the people in the area that we serve," she said. "Of course at the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, we do have some extra support, and we’re grateful."
The pantry, which serves an average of 40 families a month, collects items that have shelf life such as cans, jars, pasta and rice, she said.
"This Thanksgiving, we’ll probably get turkey donations, and through Christmas and New Year’s," said Ms. Harris. "It’s always good to get chicken or turkey or canned sausages or sausages that can be frozen. We get people, who at Christmastime worry about some kids who may not be getting what they need. They call and say they have food baskets and gifts."
Since some people need help establishing themselves, the food pantry also tries to aid them in finding agencies that can provide help for them, she said.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can write a check to St. Mary’s Food Pantry, or stop by the church on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays from 2 to 3 p.m. or on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. To reach the pantry by phone, call the church at (609) 298-0261.
Another local food pantry is not holding specific drives for the holidays, but it is still collecting donations.
Since the Fountain of Life Center food pantry collects food all year-round, it doesn’t hold additional drives during the holidays, but continues its usual work, said Lee Salibrici, who has been involved in the pantry for more than 20 years.
"We want to be able to help those in need in our community, and this is one of the avenues," she said. "We make it available to people throughout the year. This way, we feel like we can be available to them, maybe when other people are not doing things."
Anyone interested in donating non-perishables and canned goods can stop by the pantry Tuesday through Friday at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m, she said. Or they can call the center at (609) 499-2131.
Students at Life Center Academy, which is affiliated with the Fountain of Life Center, are also currently running a food drive for needy families.

