Hi Team – This week we celebrate the one year anniversary of your Stroudwater Food Pantry!  It has been both a challenging and exciting year, a year in which we have all been privileged to “Do the work of Jesus by feeding those in need.”  In the 12 months we have been open we have processed and distributed 30 tons of groceries, accounting for (approximately) 150,000 meals your Stroudwater Food Pantry has provided to those who are meal insecure in the greater Portland area.  During that time 385 families registered with us, amounting to more than 1,200 people we now feed on a reoccurring basis.

We had a light week this week, serving 29 families accounting for 92 people being fed, with 4 new families joining us.  Our two Hannaford food pickups on Friday yielded a total of 1,455 lbs.  Volunteers for the week included Steve, Wayne, Angie, Lois, Kim, Anne, Sheamus, Michael C., Elise, Grainer and myself.

I have been privileged and humbled to work with all of you who have committed yourselves to “…reducing the number of food insecure within the Greater Portland Community…” Thank you all who have taken up the challenge of our Lord Jesus Christ who declared,                                                                 “For I was hungry and you fed me…”  —  Doug

32 families served, 5 new.  385 families now registered. Hannaford pickups + purchases & donations yielded 1,688 lbs. of food.

Hi Team – Your Stroudwater Food Pantry had a very busy week serving 47 families, the highest since our recent reorganization.  141 people were fed.  2 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 380 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

Our two Hannaford food pickups on Friday yielded a total of 1,702 lbs; purchases and donations came to 135 lbs. for a total of 1,837 lbs. of food processed for the week. Volunteers for the week included Steve, Adam, Sheamus, Angie, Grainer, Kim, Michael C. and myself.  What’s Next –

• Unfortunately SFP did not qualify for an expansion grant during this grant cycle.  We were hoping this grant would cover our immediate need for another freezer and for shelving in our storage room.  We will be looking into alternatives on how to continue our expansion.
• We continue to evaluate the ongoing pilot of our Roadside Assistance Program (RAP). Our experiences with it, and how or if we will continue it will be discussed at our next pantry meeting.
• Our next Pantry meeting will be scheduled for Sunday August 14^th, after church.  An agenda will follow under separate cover.

Praise the Lord for the abundance of food He has provided, and for the privilege He has given us to serve those in need!! — Doug

Hi Team – This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 31 families for a total of 112 people being fed.  2 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 374 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

Our two Hannaford food pickups on Friday yielded a total of 1,683 lbs. of food for the week.  Volunteers for the week included Steve, Adam, Sheamus, Angie, Kim, Grainer, Michael, Denise, Megan, Gary, Elise and myself.

Transitioning the hours open to the public to only Sundays 1-3pm, and picking up all our food on Fridays has been a big operational change for us.  It’s been a big change for the clients whom we serve as well.  Praise the Lord it has gone well, and Thank You to the volunteers who have stepped up to serve on Fridays and Sundays to feed and care for those who need our help!   — Doug

Hi Team – This week was our busiest Sunday since reorganizing our hours of operation.  Your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 35 families for a total of 91 people being fed.  4 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 372 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

Our two Hannaford food pickups on Friday yielded 1,595 lbs. of food; purchases and donations came to 214 lbs. for a total of 1,809 lbs. of food processed for the week.  Volunteers for the week included Steve, Adam, Sheamus, Angie, Kim, Grainer, Michael, Laura, and myself.  What’s next –

• Once again we welcomed the opportunity to have one of our Pantry clients volunteer with us this week.
• We continue our expansion into the Pantry Storage area, having moved another one of our refrigerators into there.  This has made more room in the Pantry working area, and made it possible for us to use the connecting door to pass between the two rooms as needed.
• Our next major expansion effort will be to bring in new shelving into the storage area, enabling us to better store and organize food.  At this time we are awaiting the results of our most recent grant application to see if we qualify for the funding needed for this part of our expansion.
• We are currently evaluating fundraising opportunities for this fall, depending on conflicts with other city events.  We will keep you posted on this.

Thank you everyone who volunteered your time at the Food Pantry this week!                           — Doug

Hi Team – Happy Independence Day weekend!  This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 27 families, 3 of them new, for a total of 78 people being fed.

Our two Hannaford food pickups on Friday yielded 1,338 lbs. of food; purchases and donations totaled 12 lbs. for a total of 1350 lbs. of food processed for the week.  Volunteers for the week included Steve, Wayne, Adam, Sheamus, Jim, Grainer, Kim, Angie and myself.  What’s next – 

• This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry received a very generous donation of a brand new refrigerator.  This will help is considerably in carrying fresh food from our Friday pickup to our Sunday distribution to the public.  It is up and running in our storage room, as part of our ongoing expansion as we build out that area.

Thank you everyone who volunteered your time at the Food Pantry this week!

This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 26 families, five of them new, for a total of 97 people being fed.

This week yielded our two Hannaford pickups yielded 1,063 lbs. of food; purchases and donations totaled 55 lbs.  Volunteers for the week included Steve, Wayne, Adam, Grainer, Sheamus, and Tammy.  What’s new – 

• Our clients seen to be adjusting to our new schedule without too much difficulty.
• We are currently evaluating fundraising opportunities, looking at a city based event in either a summer or fall, depending on conflicts with other city events.  We will keep you posted on this one.

The month of June has been a struggle for us all; myself, Adam, and others had limited availability to volunteer this month. Thank you everyone else who stepped up to help out!

This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry completed the transition to our new Sunday only schedule.  We served 29 families, two of them new, for a total of 97 people being fed.

We also completed the transition back to only two Hannaford pickups per week, both of them on Fridays.  This week yielded 1,278 lbs. of food; purchases and donations totaled 759 lbs., for a total of over 1 ton of food processed for the week.  Volunteers included Steve, Adam, Lois, Sheamus, Tammy and myself.  What’s New – 

• The Dollar Tree store in the Pine Tree Shopping Center in Portland did a food drive on our behalf; it yielded 346 lbs of dry stores and can food.

Thank you everyone who volunteered your time at the Food Pantry this week!                         –Doug

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

Hi Team – This week your Stroudwater Food Pantry served 33 families on Sunday and 40 families on Wednesday, totaling of 73 for the week with 249 people being fed.  6 new families joined us this week, bringing us to a total of 357 households registered to receive groceries on a regular basis.

The total of our three Hannaford pickups yielded 1,240 lbs. of food.  Volunteers for the week included Steve, Jean, Adam, Ellen, Angie, Dylan, Lois, Rick, Grainer, Sheamus, Johnathan, Martha, and myself.   What’s next –

• We still have a number of volunteer opportunities open for June that are not yet filled, including 3 volunteers needed for Wednesday 6/15 and 3 needed for Wednesday for 6/22.  I will continue to circulate a signup schedule under separate cover; if you can fill any of the openings please respond by email.
• Our next SFP meeting will be held this Sunday June 5^th at 11:15 following the church service.  One of our topics will be the challenge we face getting volunteers for Wednesdays.
• For anyone wishing to support the pantry with a donation this week, we are experiencing a shortage of peanut butter.

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