Stroudwater Pantry Status 6/8/16

Hi Team – This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 38 families on Sunday and 28 families on Wednesday, totaling of 66 for the week with 226 people being fed.  7 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 364 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our three Hannaford pickups yielded 1,804 lbs. of food; purchases and donations totaled 861 lbs.  Volunteers for the week included Steve, Ellen, Angie, Lois, Karlene, Mike H, Jim, Deb, Sheamus, Johnathan, Adam, and myself.  What’s next – 

• As a result of our SFP meeting Sunday June 5^th we determined that Wednesday June 15^th will be our last Wednesday open to the public; thereafter we will be open only on Sundays.  We came to this decision for two reasons; our continuing difficulty in getting volunteers for Wednesdays, and the success we have had with our two Hannaford pickups on Fridays.  The economies of scale we now leverage with two pickups on Friday improves the efficiency of our Sunday operations.  For a small, church-based food pantry now serving 364 families, this move solidifies our strategy for long-term sustainability.
• On Wednesday the 8^th we started notifying our pantry clients of the forthcoming change; we posted signs, put flyers in their grocery bags (in English, Russian, and Arabic), and briefed them when they arrived.  We will continue to do this through the transition period.
• The Good Sheppard Food Bank has been notified that June 15th will be our last Wednesday food pickup at Hannaford; that food pickup will be made available for other pantries, and we will keep our two Friday Hannaford food pickups.

Thank you everyone for your input and agreement to responsibly manage the Stroudwater Food Pantry for the long haul!  — Doug