The Robbinsville Food Pantry has teamed up with local businesses and organizations to assemble Thanksgiving baskets for families in need.
by Amy Batista, Special Writer
ROBBINSVILLE — The Robbinsville Food Pantry has teamed up with local businesses and organizations to assemble Thanksgiving baskets for families in need.
”It is very fulfilling to educate the community and how the community to comes together with other the different organizations,” said Renee Burns, food pantry director, on Nov. 15. “It’s wonderful for everybody just to step up.”
According to Ms. Burns, about 25 “active families” come to the center on weekly basis. The pantry is housed in the senior center and can only house non-perishable items such as cans, cereals, macaroni and cheese and juice boxes.
Global Industries has teamed up this year with the food pantry and donated approximately 20 turkeys.
”We are passing the turkeys out as we get them,” Ms. Burns said.
Life Tree Church has also donated food, while the Calvary Chapel Church and the Baptist Church are also doing a food drive.
The Robbinsville Food Pantry is seeking donations of fresh and/or frozen turkey and ham through the upcoming holiday season.
”We sent out a list of dried goods,” Ms. Burns said.
The Robbinsville Women’s Club has also teamed up in helping to assemble baskets and collect items. Members helped package the baskets on Nov. 19 and will be distributed Nov. 20 through Nov. 22.
The Robbinsville Women’s Club asked its membership to donate items to the food pantry Thanksgiving dinners for families in need.
The club brings in monthly donations, Ms. Burns said, adding that the food pantry has expanded over the past seven to eight years as “the need has grown.”
”We try to stock and keep more items on hand,” she said.
Several nonprofit organizations including the local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have done food drives over the year, she said.
”In the last two to three years, a lot of the community organizations have partnered with us,” Ms. Burns said, adding the local Mom’s Club and residents also donate.
Ms. Burns also attributes the expansion of the food pantry being kept stocked by “lots of local organizations and residents” through more awareness.
”Word has gotten out through the mayor, through the council and the administration,” she said. “There is more awareness in the township.”
The Robbinsville news feed is one way the food pantry is helping to get the message out to “raise “awareness and educate” to residents, she said.
One area that expanded included personal hygiene.
”Several years ago we started doing a lot of personal hygiene drives,” she said, adding the drives include toothpaste, toothbrushes and even deodorant.
A Girl Scout troop is donating either laundry detergent or fabric softeners, she added.
”Those are items that aren’t necessarily something you would think should be donate to a food pantry but are still items families in need would need,” she said.
”Most of our challenges take place through the summer time when a lot of the organizations are on a hiatus when they are not meeting but one of the great things is the community comes together,” she said.
While the holidays are a challenging time for the clientele of the food pantry, local efforts occur year around, as the local Mom’s Club does a hungry bear walk in the Spring to help in continuing bringing in the donations.
”We kind of space things out so that we’re trying to get donations in on a regular basis throughout the year to be able to supply the families,” she said.
Sharon Elementary School made a donation at the end of October during which they collected many cases of canned and dried goods during Red Ribbon Week.
”Our Public Works staff goes over to the school and they made a major donation to the food pantry,” she said. “They do this on a yearly basis.”
Food Pantry Hours of Operation are Tuesday and Thursday 9 to 11 a.m. and Thursday 2 to 4 p.m.
For further information, please contact Renee Burns 609-259-1567 or email [email protected].
”We like to ask the community to give all year long,” she said. “The Food Pantry is not something that is seasonal.”
The Robbinsville Municipal Alliance is similarly collecting toiletries for the next few months to donate to Operation Homefront.