MARIE BROSSETT: Give thoughtfully to food pantries this holiday season
The holidays are coming, and people will soon begin donating food to the needy to restock food pantry shelves.
Half of all donations are corn and green beans. That means half of a poor person's meals will be corn and green beans. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks will all be corn and green beans. They won't turn their noses up at free food, but I ask you, at this time, to remember they are human. They like and dislike the same things as you.
If you truly want to donate food to the needy, go into your pantry, pick out something you really want to eat and donate it instead. This not only helps the needy, but it is in the true spirit of giving because you are giving something you would rather keep.
Do you want to get the most servings for your money? Donate a pound each of dried beans and rice, a dollar's worth of macaroni and cheese or a box of spaghetti with a jar of sauce. These are the three meals food pantries most want to be able to give out.
The family type we most frequently see in food pantries doesn't include homeless adults. The families we mostly feed are people with small children. Peanut butter and jelly, boxes of children's cereal and baby food are always in need.
Do you really want to feed people? Donate cash. That 45 cents you spent on a can of green beans provides one-third of a meal for one person. The same 45 cents in cash can buy a pound of chicken or hot dogs from a local, charitable butcher. That pound of meat feeds two to three people half a meal each. Even better, that 45 cents buys 4 pounds of dry goods at the government food bank. Four pounds of dry goods can feed a family of four for an entire day for just 45 cents!
If your goal is to feed people, cash is the way to go. Most Catholic churches have a St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, but there are many other churches and organizations that have food pantries. If you want the one closest to your home, call Twelve Baskets Food Bank at 822-0836 and 868-2823. This way, your donation stays in your neighborhood.
The food pantries of this community appreciate each and every donation, even when it's corn and green beans. Without you, poor people would have nothing at all. Now you know how the donation gets used, and you can better target the needs of your area.
MARIE BROSSETT
Woolmarket
This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 7:01 PM with the headline "MARIE BROSSETT: Give thoughtfully to food pantries this holiday season ."