Hi Team – This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 14 families on Sunday and 38 families today.  In total we served 52 families this week, accounting for 168 people being fed.  9 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 239 families registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 1,022 lbs. of food.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 402 lbs. Volunteers for the week included Anne, Jean, Adam, Steve, Kevin, Sheamus, Martha, Karlene, and myself.

As some of our pantry teammates prepare to depart for our church Guatemala mission trip, I want to offer a special thank you to everyone else on the team who is continuing to serve those families here in our community who need our help.  Thank you everyone!              -Doug

Hi Team – This was the busiest week ever for the second week in a row for your Stroudwater Food Pantry!  In total (both Sunday and Wednesday) we served 59 families this week, accounting for 185 people being fed. 13 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 230 families registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.  We continue to see the impact of the Maine’s Hungry articles by the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram helping people find their way to our doors.  The articles are still available at the following link:http://www.pressherald.com/2016/01/24/food-pantries-filling-critical-need/  Additionally, we had a couple of people this week comment that they found us when they search online and hit our blogsite.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 1,078 lbs. of food.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 550 lbs. Volunteers for the week included Adam, Tammy, Anne, Jean, Deb, Frank, and myself.

We have begun to see the benefits of our operational changes as your Stroudwater Food Pantry continues to grow and serve those in need in the greater Portland community. Thank you everyone who helped make our first month of the new year such a success!       -Doug

Hi Team – This was the busiest week ever recorded by your Stroudwater Food Pantry!

In total (both Sunday and Wednesday) we served 57 families this week, accounting for 157 people being fed. 19 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 217 families registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.  This past Sunday the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram printed a series of articles about hunger in Maine; your Stroudwater Christian Church was featured in one of the articles, and can be read at the following link: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/01/24/food-pantries-filling-critical-need/  We believe this was the reason for our increase in new people this week.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 848 lbs. of food.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 298 lbs. Our big influx of clients this week took a heavy toll on our food supplies, so we are counting on solid food donations from Hannaford this week.  Volunteers for the week included Adam, Sheamus Denise, Meghan, Anne, Jean, Bill B. and myself.

What’s Next –

• Our shift volunteers for Sunday the 31st will be Adam, Sheamus and Tammy; for Wednesday 2/03 pantry volunteers will be Doug, Frank, Angie and Deb.
• We successfully concluded our 2016 Strategic Planning; both the plan and our 2015 annual report have been distributed to the team and to the official Church Board.
• We have developed a way for church family and outside benefactors to donate cash to the pantry.  They make a check payable to Stroudwater Christian Church, and write “Food Pantry” on the memo line.  The funds are channeled to our pantry budget, and the donor receives a year end statement for tax records that includes the amount.

Praise the Lord for the food He continues to provide, that we might serve those in need!!   — Doug

Hi team – This week was the kickoff for your Stroudwater Food Pantry’s new days and hours of operation.  We were open Sunday 1:00 to 3:00 and Wednesday 12:00 to 3:00pm.  Although Sunday was a very light day for us, this week in total we served 45 families, accounting for 150 people being fed. 7 new families joined us this week.

It was also our first week to distribute food from two Hannaford pickups; our Friday morning pickup was distributed this past Sunday, and our existing Wednesday morning pickup that was distributed yesterday afternoon.  The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 889 lbs. of food.  Our separate donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 232 lbs.  This week’s volunteers for both Sunday and Wednesday were Adam, Sheamus, Kevin, Anne, Doug, and Bill Barrows, with help from both Jean and Chad hauling in and putting away food.

What’s Next –

• Our shift volunteers for Sunday the 24th will be Adam, Sheamus and Denise Brown; the Wednesday the 27^th pantry shift is still open for anyone wishing to volunteer.
• Our next Strategic Planning meeting is scheduled for this Sunday the 24^th at 11:30, and we will try to limit it to one hour.
• We have developed a way for church family and outside benefactors to donate cash to the pantry. They make a check payable to Stroudwater Christian Church, and write “Food Pantry” on the memo line.  The funds are channeled to our pantry budget, and the donor receives a year end statement for tax records that includes the amount.

Thank you everyone who is working to make our operational changes a success! — Doug

Hi team – This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 25 families, accounting for 65 people being fed. It was a very light week for use, likely due to having served so many people the previous week and also due to the snow storm.  This week our Hannaford pickup consisted of 508 lbs of food. Volunteers included Frank, Angie, Deb, Adam, Laura, and myself.

What’s Next –

• Our shift volunteers for Sunday the 17^h will be Adam and Sheamus.
• This week we have our first Friday food pickup from the Hannaford, which helps us immensely in closing the food gap we’ve been experiencing with fresh fruits and vegetables lately.
• This week we will open the pantry on Sunday between 1:00 and 3:00, keeping our pantry doors open two days per week, every Wednesday and Sunday.
• Our new freezer, purchased with a cash grant from Walmart and organized through the Good Sheppard Food Bank, was installed just in time for this week’s Friday food pickup.
• We have posted to our blogsite the pictures, video, and corporate logo of our first corporate sponsor, Time Warner Cable.
• This past Sunday we made great progress on the kickoff of our Strategic Planning meeting, our next meeting is scheduled Sunday the 24th.

Thank you everyone who participated in the kickoff of Strategic Planning, and a special thanks to all who stepped up to support our reorganization of pantry operations, and the opening of our doors on Sundays!  — Doug

Hi team – Yesterday your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 48 families, accounting for 139  people being fed.  We had 6 new families this week, bringing us to a total of 179 households that are registered with us.

Our Hannaford pickup consisted of 361lbs of food.  Volunteers included Karlene, Angie, Adam, Laura, Frank, Jean, Chad and myself.

• What’s Next -Our shift volunteers for Wednesday the 13^h will be Deb and Angie (1^st shift) and Adam and Laura (2^nd shift).
• We have entered into an agreement with Time Warner to post pictures, video, and corporate logo on our blogsite, and will be talking to them about their next food drive with us.
• At 179 families served, your Stroudwater Food Pantry is about to start the transition from a small, startup operation to a full-blown medium sized food pantry ministry. This Sunday Jan-10 we will kickoff a series of Strategic Planning meetings. Join us in the Annex at 11:15 for our first meeting.
• We were awarded a SECOND food pickup day at the Westbrook Hannaford. Beginning next week we pickup on both Wednesdays AND Fridays.  This helps us immensely in closing the food gap we’ve been experiencing with fresh fruits and vegetables lately.
• The second Hannaford pickup will afford us the opportunity to open the pantry an additional day of the week. We will discuss how this will work during our meeting this Sunday.
• Our new freezer, purchased with a cash grant organized through the Good Sheppard Food Bank, will be installed and operational by next Thursday the 14^th.
• Yesterday Tux Turkel, staff writer for the Press Herald, visited the pantry along with his photographer to interview both volunteers and a few clients regarding how our pantry works and its impact on hunger in our local community. His visit was part of a series he is doing on hunger in Maine, and the first installment of his series goes to print before the end of this month.

Thank you everyone who helped usher in our first pantry day of 2016!                        – Doug

This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 30 families, accounting for 92 people being fed.  Our Hannaford pickup consisted of 682 lbs of food. We again received a generous donation from one of our outside benefactors, Mike Curran, consisting of sauce, pasta, soup, fruit and rice.  Volunteers included Karlene, Angie, Adam, Sheamus, Laura, and myself, with both Jean and Chad helping unload our vehicles and put things away. What’s Next –

• Our shift volunteers for Wednesday the 6^th will be Angie and Doug (1^st shift) and Adam and Laura (2^nd shift).
• We continue  our discussions with Time Warner about branding on our blogsite.
• At 173 families served, your Stroudwater Food Pantry is about to start the transition from a small, startup operation to a full-blown medium sized food pantry ministry. This will be a critical transition for all of us, so we will kickoff a series of Strategic Planning meetings in January.  More to come on this.

Looking back to August 12^th, it has been an amazing 21 weeks since we emptied out, cleaned up, and food stocked a 9’x17’ room that would open its doors to a new ministry and change the lives of almost 600 people.  I’m honored to serve with you. As we approach New Years, may the Lord bless you and your families with the hope and prosperity He declares in Jeremiah 29:11, and bless your future this year. – Doug