Good morning. We have a lot going on at the Pantry this month. Construction is progressing well, our largest distribution is approaching, fundraising continues and we are on the cusp of opening our indoor client choice Pantry!

Construction
Our contractor, Visbeen Construction, has been doing a fantastic job! Painting was in progress last week and we anticipate the flooring on the pantry side to go in soon. Every day, we see progress putting us closer to our goal of opening the indoor client choice Pantry on December 7th!

Fundraising

We could not have made it to $145,000 without you! Spreading the word, selling raffle tickets and sharing our social media posts has been a big help. We have seven business sponsors, but welcome more. Whoever joins as a business sponsor by Giving Tuesday, November 30th, will be announced on a banner outside of the ASCC plus on our social media pages. Click here for more information. If you wish to sell raffle tickets, WE HAVE MORE. Please reply and ask for some. The raffle will be held on November 27th, so there is still time.

Our Families

November is always our biggest month with the Thanksgiving holiday. In preparation, we are preparing for 450 families instead of our average 350. We may not see that many; however, we always want to be prepared to help all who come. We will be open for our Traditional distribution on November 10th and Fresh Express on the 17th. We anticipate the bulk of additional families will visit on the 17th.

These will be our last outdoor distributions. As a result of the pandemic, we began outdoor, drive-thru distributions on March 24, 2020. It was the result of much consideration and an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of our clients and volunteers.

With your help, we have safely provided food to more than 30,000 individuals since the pandemic began.

Up Next

Moving inside will shift our method of delivery and allow us to re-establish more personal connections with our families. It is important to keep in mind, this transition will bring changes to the way we do everything.

-      Client families will utilize street parking and enter at Oliver Street. Many have never come into our Pantry, so they will need guidance on where to enter and the process of selecting their food.

-      Our new cold storage will allow us to have two large deliveries each month with several smaller fresh deliveries in between.

-      Our hours of operation will increase to allow our families time to come in and select their food. We will be open three days twice a month. I have attached the calendar for December and January here for your reference.

-      Lastly, volunteer roles will change as our setup will be permanent! No more packing hundreds of boxes, moving tables, tents and food outside. We will set up our racks in the Pantry for our clients to walk through and pack their own items. We will help with entry, check-in, food selection and restocking.

In order to make this a smooth transition for all, we would like to welcome volunteers who plan to sign-up for unloading and distribution activities to join us for a Volunteer Orientation on Wednesday, December 1 at 4PM. Please RSVP here.

In closing, I would be remiss if I did not state how grateful and happy we are that we found All Souls Community Church. By collaborating together, we are able to provide those in need within our community with quality, healthy food from a safe and welcoming space. When our doors open, all will feel the warmth and love of our volunteers and recognize the time spent on reaching this goal.

Thank you for your time.
Respectfully yours,
Joyce

201.394.0627