LisaKinVA Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Please keep in mind that my food pantry only can take shelf-stable items. As far as I know, there have been no requests for gluten-free, or other special products. So, I'm purchasing based upon what is on the "list." My $60 for the food pantry (which is actually the past two weeks of my planned donations) included: 6 boxes of pasta (name brand, some veggie-based) 6 boxes of hamburger/chicken/tuna helper 12 cans of Progresso Soup 6 cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup 12 cans of Campbell's Chunky Soups 4 Betty Crocker Cake Mixes 3 Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes 4 boxes of Kellogg's Raisin Bran (20 oz. box) 4 jars of Vlassic Pickles 4 boxes of Cheerio's (the middle-sized box) 1 box of Cinnamon Corn Flakes (smallest box) 5 bottles of Ajax dishwashing detergent 5 full-size tubes of Crest toothpaste 5 adult toothbrushes (Oral-B) 5 deoderants (Suave, Degree, and another name brand I can't remember) 5 off-brand cake mixes 5 bags of rice 5 cans of Chef Boyardee Ravioli I've started working on this week's planned giving. I know I'll have 10 cans of Bumble Bee Tuna, 4 jars of Jiffy Peanut Butter, as well as a few more boxes of Hamburger Helper, but that will only be about 1/3 of my budget for the week. My goal was to increase our donations, while maintaining our food budget, and decrease our household budget by 50%. So far, I am exceeding those goals. I'm sure I will have some weeks that are better than others, too. I have also struck up a conversation with the church's food pantry coordinator... I think part of our participation problem is that we just have a general list, and people just "forget." It always says the same thing. My thought was that we put out a weekly shopping list based upon the advertised sales. Like a $10 list buy 4 cans of Progresso Soup (Buy 2 get 2 free), buy 5 cans of Bumble Bee Tuna (50 cents/can), buy 2 jars of Skippy Peanut Butter ($1.25/jar), buy 4 bags of Idahoan Baby Reds Instant Potatoes ($0.40/bag)... kind of thing. It just makes it "simple." If members want to do more, they can. If they can only do 5 cans of tuna... they can. But, the list is specific -- has prices and where to get them (if they shop at Walmart, they can get price-matching -- which makes it even easier). The coordinator of the food pantry doesn't have time to do this, so I volunteered to put the list together. I'm hoping she takes me up on it. I'm also hoping we can figure out a way to add some fresh produce to what we offer. We don't have any refrigeration capabilities... so we could only really do things like tomatoes, corn, potatoes, apples, grapes, oranges, bananas, squash, etc. And, we'd probably have to make those available only one day a week (Monday... since the biggest drop-off day at the church is Sunday). I feel like I may have found a ministry within the church I can really be a part of (aside from nursery duty... or teaching children's church every 6 weeks...). I'm really excited about this opportunity. Praying that I can make a positive difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Good for you! You have inspired me to find something I'm passionate about that will help people in need. I volunteered in a food pantry when I was a child. I had a pot of fun organizing and filling boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Good job! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 That sounds great!! I really like the part where food pantries can help to offer food that is good for the families. I think that classes in food prep with easy to attain food, would be great:) Our community has 3 churches that share doing dinners on different nights.... Which has perhaps helped to build community spirit. My family has gone without me... and my husband's ex-wife goes often, with her baby and my two kids when they're over there... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 As someone who works at our local food pantry, thank you!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 That is brilliant! I love the idea of coordinating the request list with sale ads - I am very impressed. Now - how to get this implemented here! You've inspired me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in OH Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Lisa, what you are doing is truly God in action. You are using your abilities to magnify what others are able to do. Parable of the talents. God bless. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 That is brilliant! I love the idea of coordinating the request list with sale ads - I am very impressed. Now - how to get this implemented here! You've inspired me. I'm going to try to do it this way... I'm in the process of making a "base-line" shopping list, using Wal-Mart and Costco for my cost comparisons (cost per oz./item/roll of TP kind of thing). That way, when I'm comparing Bloom, Giant, Food Lion, Bottom Dollar, Walgreens, Rite-Aid and CVS I have a pretty good basis of comparison for determining best deals. I plan to list which items have coupons, and where they can be found on-line (if people want to do that too). I plan to list which items people can have price-matched at Wal-Mart. Of course, the only "downside" to the list is storage space. We don't have much. It's kind of crazy when you think that with this type of plan, if only half of our church's families participated, we could wind up with 100 bottles of pancake syrup, 200 boxes of pasta, 200 jars of sauce, 400 cans of Progresso Soups, and 500 cans of tuna! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Also, sometimes if you ask stores, I've heard that the Manager can give you a deal. (Like let you get more of an item than advertised...etc...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Please keep in mind that my food pantry only can take shelf-stable items. As far as I know, there have been no requests for gluten-free, or other special products. So, I'm purchasing based upon what is on the "list." My $60 for the food pantry (which is actually the past two weeks of my planned donations) included: 6 boxes of pasta (name brand, some veggie-based) 6 boxes of hamburger/chicken/tuna helper 12 cans of Progresso Soup 6 cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup 12 cans of Campbell's Chunky Soups 4 Betty Crocker Cake Mixes 3 Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes 4 boxes of Kellogg's Raisin Bran (20 oz. box) 4 jars of Vlassic Pickles 4 boxes of Cheerio's (the middle-sized box) 1 box of Cinnamon Corn Flakes (smallest box) 5 bottles of Ajax dishwashing detergent 5 full-size tubes of Crest toothpaste 5 adult toothbrushes (Oral-B) 5 deoderants (Suave, Degree, and another name brand I can't remember) 5 off-brand cake mixes 5 bags of rice 5 cans of Chef Boyardee Ravioli I've started working on this week's planned giving. I know I'll have 10 cans of Bumble Bee Tuna, 4 jars of Jiffy Peanut Butter, as well as a few more boxes of Hamburger Helper, but that will only be about 1/3 of my budget for the week. My goal was to increase our donations, while maintaining our food budget, and decrease our household budget by 50%. So far, I am exceeding those goals. I'm sure I will have some weeks that are better than others, too. I have also struck up a conversation with the church's food pantry coordinator... I think part of our participation problem is that we just have a general list, and people just "forget." It always says the same thing. My thought was that we put out a weekly shopping list based upon the advertised sales. Like a $10 list buy 4 cans of Progresso Soup (Buy 2 get 2 free), buy 5 cans of Bumble Bee Tuna (50 cents/can), buy 2 jars of Skippy Peanut Butter ($1.25/jar), buy 4 bags of Idahoan Baby Reds Instant Potatoes ($0.40/bag)... kind of thing. It just makes it "simple." If members want to do more, they can. If they can only do 5 cans of tuna... they can. But, the list is specific -- has prices and where to get them (if they shop at Walmart, they can get price-matching -- which makes it even easier). The coordinator of the food pantry doesn't have time to do this, so I volunteered to put the list together. I'm hoping she takes me up on it. I'm also hoping we can figure out a way to add some fresh produce to what we offer. We don't have any refrigeration capabilities... so we could only really do things like tomatoes, corn, potatoes, apples, grapes, oranges, bananas, squash, etc. And, we'd probably have to make those available only one day a week (Monday... since the biggest drop-off day at the church is Sunday). I feel like I may have found a ministry within the church I can really be a part of (aside from nursery duty... or teaching children's church every 6 weeks...). I'm really excited about this opportunity. Praying that I can make a positive difference! :thumbup: I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Lisa, what you are doing is truly God in action. You are using your abilities to magnify what others are able to do. Parable of the talents. God bless. Beth :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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