Hi Team – This Sunday was the busiest yet for your Stroudwater Food Pantry; 27 families were served, with 38 families served on Wednesday.  The restructuring of operations back in January is finally starting to yield a load balancing in activity for the days we are open.  In total we served 65 families this week, accounting for 181 people being fed.  10 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 291 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 955 lbs. of food.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 548 lbs. Volunteers for the week included Steve, Adam, Sheamus, Anne, Jean, Gary, Elise, Angie, Karlene, Bill B., and myself.  What’s Next –

• The Pantry will be open to serve the public on Easter.  Tina and Mike Halkiu have graciously offered to staff the pantry 1-3pm Easter Sunday.
• Financial constraints have forced us to temporally suspend the purchase of breakfast cereal for the time being.  Cereal tends to be the most expensive of dry stores that we purchase, so at this time we are emphasizing that cereal is the most important donation that people can make to the food pantry.
• A safe food handling training class is being conducted by the Good Sheppard Food Bank at our church on April 21, 10-12noon. The class is free, and students who pass the test are certified in safe food handling for 2 years.  Right now four people are confirmed to attend and we have plenty of room for others to join in.
• Our food drive with Time Warner Cable was successfully kicked off on March 18^th. We will pick up their food donation the last week of April.
• Angie and I are away on vacation 3/26 to 4/11, and are back in the pantry Wednesday 4/13. 

Thank you everyone who made this week such a success!    — Doug

Hi Team!! –  This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 16 families on Sunday and 32 families Wednesday.  In total we served 48 families this week, accounting for 126 people being fed.  4 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 279 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 814 lbs. of food.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 894 lbs. Volunteers for the week included Steve, Lois, Adam, Tina, Mike, Sheamus, Tammy, Anne, Ellen, Jean, Angie, Bill B., and myself.

What’s Next – 

• Pantry volunteers for this Sunday 3/20 are Gary and Elise, Wednesday 3/23 includes Bill B, Malachi, and Angie.
• The Stroudwater Food Pantry will be open to serve the public on Easter Sunday.  Tina and Mike Halkiu have graciously offered to staff the pantry 1-3pm.
• The safe food handling training class scheduled with the Good Sheppard Food Bank for Friday March 25 has been rescheduled.  GFSB will host the class at the church on April 21, 10-12noon.  Right now two people are confirmed to attend and we have room for lots of others to join in.
• We kickoff our next food drive with Time Warner Cable on March 18^th.  We will pick up their food donation of dry stores the last week of April.
• Angie and I are away on vacation 3/26 to 4/11, and are back in the pantry Wednesday 4/13.

It is inspiring to serve with the many volunteers who support the Stroudwater Food Pantry, and see their heartfelt dedication to serve those in need.  Thank you Team!!       — Doug

Hi Team – This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 16 families on Sunday and 45 families yesterday.  In total we served 61 families, accounting for 190 people being fed.  11 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 275 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 854 lbs. of food.  Once again we did not receive any meat from the pickup, and having previously exhausted our meat reserves, we had only tuna fish on hand for meat distribution.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 513 lbs. Volunteers for the week included Anne, Steve, Jenn, Adam, Meaghan, Denise, Martha, Sheamus, Bill B, Malachi, Brian, Ellen, Angie, Jean, and myself.

What’s Next – We kickoff our next food drive with Time Warner Cable on March 15^th.  TWC will raise food donations and purchase food on their own for a month, and anticipate turning the food over to us on April 20^th.  I meet with their team managers this week to assist in getting their food drive started.

Thank you to the many hands that who labored this week to give groceries to those in need!         — Doug

Hi Team – This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 15 families on Sunday and 47 families yesterday.  In total we served 62 families, accounting for 214 people being fed.  5 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 264 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 901 lbs. of food.  We did not receive any meat Wednesday morning, however, it is our practice to keep an inventory of frozen meat in reserve when we can, and we had enough on hand to get through the day with a little bit left over.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 428 lbs. Volunteers for the week included Ellen, Kevin, Steve, Anne, Angie, Martha, Tammy,  Lita, Dakota, Maya, Adam, Sheamus, Bill B., and myself. What’s Next –

• We kickoff our next food drive with Time Warner Cable on March 15^th.  TWC will raise food donations and purchase food on their own for a month, and anticipate turning the food over to us on April 20^th.  I meet with their team managers on the 15^th to discuss best practices for economical shopping, the types of dry stores most frequently needed, and how best to structure a food raising competition among their Call Center teams.
• For anyone wishing to make a food donation to the pantry, the dry stores most frequently needed continue to be; boxes of breakfast cereal, peanut butter, jelly, spaghetti, and red spaghetti sauce.
• For anyone wishing to make a cash donation to the pantry, please make your check payable to Stroudwater Christian Church, and write Food Pantry on the memo line.

This week it seemed like we had more volunteers than ever; how rewarding it is to labor with so many who are so willing to do the Lord’s work. You are a blessing to Stroudwater Church and the community whom we serve!                          — Doug

This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 15 families on Sunday (biggest Sunday so far) and 50 families today.  In total we served 65 families, accounting for 264 people being fed.  10 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 259 families registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 907 lbs. of food, however, once again there was no meat provided for our Friday pickup, making Sunday’s distribution a vegetarian day.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 225 lbs. Volunteers for the week included Frank, Gary & Elise, Angie, Steve, Sheamus, Anne, Bill B., Adam & myself.

A number of our clients asked for prayers this week, including one woman who accepted Christ as Lord and Savior!  Praise the Lord, and blessings to our growing list of volunteers, some of whom serve regularly, some occasionally, but all of whom serve the greater Portland community in Christian love! — Doug

Hi Team – Sorry for the late distribution of your Stroudwater Food Pantry Status for 2/17, I was in Guatemala with the mission team.  Last week we served 10 families on Sunday and 41 families Wednesday.  In total we served 51 families this week, accounting for 161 people being fed.  10 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 249 families registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our two Hannaford pickups yielded 991 lbs. of food.  Our separate purchases and donations (non-Hannaford) of can foods and dry stores totaled 241 lbs. Volunteers for the week included Adam, Gary & Elise, Sheamus, Anne, Frank, Angie and Jean.

A BIG Thank You to this week’s volunteers, who stepped up and stood in the gap for those of us traveling in Guatemala last week!! — Doug

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