Support
Our Volunteers
What do they do? Just about everything. Pantry workers sort and distribute food and clothing donations. Van drivers and partners pick up donated food from grocery stores at assigned times. Intake workers interview clients. Accounting volunteers keep our bills paid. IT specialists create and maintain our computer system. Community and business leaders help us make decisions. Other volunteers host our bag sales, help maintain our buildings and equipment and answer phones. Our Generous Community Our community has a heart for the Peace Pantry. Each year several organizations host fund or food raising events to make sure that people in need in our area have a place to go for food, clothing and encouragement. We are so grateful for our partners in the community who demonstrate their love for their neighbors. Here are just a few: The Boy Scouts Scouting for Food, the yearly food drive that is held the third Saturday in November provides thousands of nonperishable food items each year to the pantry. The Girl Scouts Our girls do not disappoint us. Each year Girl Scouts in our area collect thousands of personal care items for the pantry through their April Showers program. Local Churches Churches throughout our community give sustenance and hope through their generous donations of food, clothing, time and effort. Civic Organizations Members of the Knights of Columbus Men and the Ladies Auxiliary, the House Springs Lions Club, the High Ridge Rotary, the Memories Car Club all contribute time, effort and monetary support to provide food for their neighbors in the community. Businesses Businesses come through for the Pantry each year and many thanks go to the following: Chapel Hill Mortuary, the Cedar Hill, Dittmer, Fenton and House Springs post offices; Frick's Meats in Washington, the Northwest Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, Sara Lee and Gil Schroeder Sod Farm. Deer Hunters Share the Harvest Local hunters donate hundreds of pounds of venison each year. Dittmer Meat Packing processes the meat. Saturday Bag SalesWhat is a bag sale? It's the Pantry's only fundraiser. We open our doors to the public to shop our clothing room. A shopper is given a brown paper grocery bag and $2.00 per bag is collected when it's full. We also have a variety of dishes, small appliances, home decor items, bedding and lots of miscellaneous knickknack items. These are priced individually. Selling some of these items at a greatly reduced price helps increase the revenue of the sale. The money is used to help the pantry provide meat on a weekly basis for clients. Clothing and household items are also shared free of charge to our clients. Donations we receive are always used for the purpose requested by the donor.
Christmas Collection at Schroeder Sod Farm's Holiday party 2011 |
How to Help the PantryThere are lots of ways to help the Peace Pantry and make a difference in the lives of your neighbors.
Volunteer! More hands make our work go quickly and smoothly. We are in need of volunteers who can commit their time to the Peace Pantry on a regular basis. Remember to Give Give to local food and personal care item drives like the Girl Scouts' and Boy Scouts' programs. Buy School Supplies We collect school supplies all year long for local students in need. Save Paper Bags and Egg Cartons Donate large paper bags because they are always needed. Save and donate 12 count egg cartons. When donated eggs get broken, it's nice to have clean egg cartons. __________________________________ Our Food Sources Operation Food Search assigns us to grocery stores where we receive dairy items, deli items, bakery and perishable foods. Volunteers pick up the food on an assigned day every week including holidays. The following stores contribute through the program: Shop N Save in High Ridge, Schnucks in High Ridge, Dierbergs on Telegraph Road, Schnucks on Butler Hill and Schnucks in Des Peres, Schnucks on Big Bend and Price Chopper in House Springs. St. Louis Area Foodbank provides USDA government commodities. Their mission is to feed hungry people by distributing food through partner agencies and educate the public about the nature of and solutions to the problems of hunger. They gather and distribute millions of pounds of food and personal care items each year thanks to the generous support of hundreds of food manufacturers, retailers, foundations, corporations, businesses and individuals. Food pantries registered with the Foodbank can also purchase food for a maintenance fee of 10 cents a pound. AmpleHarvest.org diminishes hunger in America by educating, encouraging and enabling gardeners to donate their excess harvest to the needy in their community instead of allowing it to rot in the garden. There are no costs to the food pantries or the gardeners for use of AmpleHarvest.org. |