St. Juan Diego St Vincent de Paul Food Pantry

Our pantry continues to do well in terms of serving the need for food as well as rent and utility assistance for our community. We are now open three days per week and average about 12 clients per day that we are open. The last two months we distributed over 12,000 pounds of food to families in need! This represents a doubling of demand from the first six months that we were open.

In addition, our newest program "The Backpack Program" now services 40 school children at three elementary schools in our immediate area. This food is provided in backpacks that the children pick up on their way home on the last day of school each week. The children participating are identified by either the school secretary or the school counselor as someone who would benefit from a self managed supply of food over the weekend. The feedback on the program has been excellent. We are told that the children look forward to picking up their packs each week and that they are very proud to participate.

The panty continues to operate with a strong volunteer organization. We were proud to have passed our first Oregon Food Bank audit, with "flying colors" indicating the care that our volunteers take in doing all of the behind the scene tasks.

We are most proud of the great relationships that we have established with over 500 clients since we began operating. Our volunteers always feel that they receive more than they give as our clients often go out of their way to express their appreciation and often they share their limited resources with others in need, All in all quite a humbling experience.

On October 31, we will complete the first year of operation of our food pantry. During this time we have served about 1400 families representing over 5000 individuals ...we distributed over 50 tons of food from our conveted elementary school portable! Beyond the numbers,  community has been created among  our wonderful volunteers and guests. The pantry is a place people truly enjoy coming.

The need in our community continues to grow. It is now not unsual to see 15 to 20 clients on one the days that we are open. The demand is more consistent through the month as other sources of assistance abate due to the troubled economy.

A shining star of our work has been our backpack program. This school  year we are delivering approximately 30 backpacks per week to school children who often come to school hungry. Recipients are identified by school secretaries and guidance councelors. They are able to pick up their backpacks on their way home friday afternoon, and inside find nutritious meals and snacks that they are able to manage on their own to meet their hunger needs. This program has touched many hearts. Recently a Boy scout in our parish collected 1000 pound of food for this program along with hundreds of books for reading programs. The schools we serve are in a three mile radius of our pantry.

We have also begun an allaince with NW Childrens Outreach to provide clothing to families that come to us in need. The clothing is delivere to our pantry and families can pick up their customized packages when they come for food or just drop in.

Thanks for the genorosity of all of you who volunteer your time or donate to our pantry. We are continually overwhelmed by your help and compassion.

Links:

• Backpack Program
• Pantry Opening article