Twin Rivers Interfaith Food Pantry switched back to pre packing boxes of food in mid-March when the schools closed. Folks waited in their cars, and they took boxes of nonperishables and boxes of meat, produce, dairy, and bakery, with add-ons for increased family sizes, out to the waiting vehicles. Their service numbers have not skyrocketed and they continue to reach out to their communities to let folks know they are here. Daisy said that their new Director, Alec, who started mid-February has been awesome through all of this!
When the schools closed down, “Feed the Need!” went into limbo for a week to figure out some other method of distribution, as the administrators were no long in their buildings to do that, and Twin Rivers Interfaith Food Pantry was never part of knowing who received food on Fridays. Franklin Food Service, delivering school lunches every day, began taking Twin Rivers Interfaith Food Pantry bags on the school buses on Friday mornings, and as of this past week, the decision has been made to continue that delivery method throughout the summer months. They are going to look at some summer service this year to plug gaps in the other programs in the city, but with many of those closed now, they have jumped right in to continue weekly bags – at this point, for 80 children. The bags weigh about 5 pounds each – two breakfast items, two lunch items, two juice boxes, a can of tuna or chicken, a dinner item, and 3-4 snacks – and cost between $3-$5 depending upon what items they can purchase at the Food Bank and what items they have to purchase retail.
The community has been EXTREMELY generous, and Twin Rivers Interfaith Food Pantry is doing OK financially despite having to cancel two of their major fundraisers. They have taken over the end bay of the building with the expected increase in rent – official occupancy happened right when the pandemic started so they have not been able to do renovations yet, as they have just had to use the space in its rough condition to accommodate increased inventory.
Since they reverted to pre packing boxes and delivering them to waiting vehicles, they miss the conversations, the recipe discussions, and the human interaction, and they look forward to being able to reopen their
doors and put their shopping carts back in use! In the meantime, they are strengthening their resolve to extend their outreach, expand the Choice Pantry inventory, expand their children’s feeding program, and determine new ways to more effectively address hunger in this community!
Thank you Twin Rivers Interfaith Food Pantry for your continued great work in the community!