FPCY Food Pantryn

Food Pantry

Next Pantry Dates: May 8 & 22, June 12 & June 26, July 10 & July 24, Aug 14 & 28 from 9 - 11a.m.

Click here for the 2010 schedule
Click here for photos
Click here for the list of requested items

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - POSTAL WORKERS' FOOD DRIVE MAY 8th

So, what kind of a worker are you? Do you "run"? Or "sort"? or "stack"? or "organize"? Because whatever you do, we can use your help at the Food Pantry on May 8th for the annual Food Drive sponsored by the Postal Workers Union and several local corporations.

We'll be there between 1:00 p.m. and about 6:00 p.m., unloading food from the trucks, unpacking the cases, sorting and stacking the food away. The bulk of the food will come be-tween probably 2:30p.m. and 4:00 p.m. as usual. At that point, we'll need as many people as we can round up to help bring the food baskets and bags down from the parking lot to the Food Pantry room to sort, check for dates and then store the food.

This drive typically provides anywhere from two to four months of canned and non-perishable food for the Pantry. It's a major source of supply for us. Whatever amount of time you can give will be appreciated in this big task.

If you can help or would just like more information please call Todd 243-0806 or e-mail TODD@toddchild.com. And even if you can't help, keep your eyes peeled for the flyers that will come out a few days before May 8th and help out by donating a can or two. Thanks a lot!

Some interesting facts from our food pantry…

Between the two pantry session in April, the Food Pantry distributed 286 bags of gro-ceries to 198 families, which represented 395 adults, 28 elderly and 368 children. That’s 791 people. 19 new families were registered in April. These numbers are down from February and March, but still up compared to 2009 which was our biggest year ever.

The average for this year is now 164 bags and 118 families per pantry. The total for the year is 1,312 bags so far.

Also of interest, clients of the pantry have brought outgrown clothes, or canned food they found they couldn't use, to us to be distributed to others.

Many thanks to all who contribute their time, energy and resources to the impor-tant work of the Food Pantry!

Stories from the Food Pantry

Some happy stories where the groceries our Church gave out made a difference.

One of our long time visitors came in one Saturday with a big, big smile. She told us that she would not be coming to the Food Pantry in the future, since she had wonderful news: after 4 years she had received her Nursing Degree from a local college. For our friend it was a long 4 years with many struggles.

She was a single mother supporting her daughter by working three different jobs and supplementing her budget with groceries received from the Church's Food Pantry. But now she was full-fledged nurse with a degree. Our friend had tears in her eyes when she received the ‗Congratulations on your Nursing Graduation‘ card signed by all the volunteers that serve at First Presbyterian Church's Food Pantry.

Another good news story... one of our former Food Pantry visitors came into the Church Office and asked if she could make a substantial donation to the First Presbyterian Church's Food Pan-try.

Our friend explained that she was grateful to our Food Pantry for all the years that we had helped her out with food when she needed, help but now she had a job and wanted to say thank you to all her friends at the Food Pantry. The volunteers at the Food Pantry not only pack the grocery bags but they also take the time to give friendly smile and welcome to those in need.

Sometimes, the volunteers are able to give words of encouragement to our visitors. There is the mother of 7 children whose husband just died, or the man who was just released from prison and had no where to turn or the Vietnam Veteran for whom the groceries make a difference.

Respectfully submitted,

Louise Fang

December 19th Food Pantry - more than just groceries...

The deacons have many projects that are ongoing throughout the year. At Christmas, several additional projects present themselves. The most widely recognized of these would be Toys for Tots and our Christmas Food Pantry. In recent years we have added two other projects in response to needs in our local community and in our church family-the winter coat drive and the used toy drive. Although not as well-known in our church, these two projects help to fill the needs of families served by our food pantry.

While many people are familiar with the posters and presence of Toys for Tots collections in the mall or at places of business, many people are unaware of the next steps in the process of getting these toys into the hands of children in need. For many years our food pantry has served as an important link in this step.

Our local representative for Toys for Tots, Al Laughlin, collects the toys from local businesses and brings them to the trailer currently parked in our back parking lot. This provides storage for toys until such time as we are ready to set up the room for the toy distribution. During the week before the Christmas Food Pantry all of the toys are brought into the room set aside for the Toys for Tots distribution. Next comes the hard part.

Many volunteers help sort the toys into basic categories before arranging them so that clients of the food pantry can easily find toys suitable for their children. On the day of the distribution, the clients stand in line at the food pantry for over an hour to obtain food and gifts for their children.

The shopping process is aided by the presence of the “helper elves”. The elves are actually girl scouts from troops 1284 and 1275 from Yorktown. Most people have the opportunity to select two to three toys per child. This year, we helped over 150 families with a total of 400 children have a merrier Christmas.

As you are probably aware, Toys for Tots accepts only new, unwrapped toys. The need for gifts has grown significantly. Three years ago, we distributed 950 toys to 176 children. This year, we had a similar number of toys for more than double the number of children. In the past few years, many members of this congregation have asked if we can use “gently used” toys. While this is against Toys for Tots policy, we felt that it fell well within the guidelines of our Food Pantry policies. This year alone, we received over 85 high quality toys in “like new” condition that we gladly accepted by the clients of our Food Pantry.

In the process of distributing the used toys, we were made aware of a significant need for warm winter clothing for the children. Once again, the members of this congregation came forward with help, with new jackets, with old jackets, with gloves and with scarves. These were eagerly accepted by the patrons of the Food Pantry. Knowing that so many children will have a warmer and merrier Christmas because of the efforts of this congregation should warm all our hearts this Christmas season.

Kathy Anderson

The Brasserie Swiss Restaurant, located at 118 Croton Avenue in Ossining, will do-nate $10 to the Food Pantry for each church member who has dinner at the restaurant.

We again thank Polymedco for huge gifts of food, and Phyllis Cohen and the Social Action Committee of the Yorktown Jewish Center for their donation of canned goods and food.

We also need plastic bags - grocery size. Bring to room 16.

Food Pantry Always Needs :
Instant coffee        Tea        Cereal        Pasta       Spaghetti sauce
Peanut butter        Soup    Cookies Crackers    Paper products
Toothpaste        Soap    Diapers    Personal hygiene products

Your monetary contributions are also appreciated. We “shop” at Food Pantry of Westchester where a dollar will buy more food than you can imagine, thanks to government and corporate donations. Remember - Matching Grant Will Double Your Food Pantry Gifts.

The Food Pantry is one of the more visibly effective of our many benevolences. This year, with a slowing economy, the need is expected to be even greater. We now have a “matching” Trust Fund that will double the effectiveness of every dollar we donate to the Food Pantry. Let's make good use of this wonderful gift.

For Holiday (or anytime) gift giving, consider making a donation in honor of your loved ones. Food Pantry Gift Cards are available in $5 and $10 denominations -- after both the 8:30 AM and 10:45 AM services. These donations will also be matched by the Trust Fund!
THANK YOU! To everyone who helped with the November 21st Food Pantry. 100 turkeys, donated by members of our congregation and the commu-nity, and 120 pies, donated by Shop Rite, were distributed in addition to the usual bags of groceries. Thanks to all who organized, loaded and distributed the food. Thanks also to Panera Bread for their donation of baked goods which are still good to eat, but no longer meet their strict guidelines for retail sale. We receive dona-tions from both the Yorktown and new Cortlandt Town Center Panera locations. In light if the large increase in the number of clients served by the Food Pantry, this additional supply of bread has been very welcome. The Pantry before Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest of the year. At last year’s pre-Thanksgiving Pantry, volunteers distributed a record setting 164 bags of food. This year, the Pantry served 148 families with 215 bags of groceries, both new record numbers. The need is clearly great. If you are interested in assisting in this very important mission of our congregation, please consider making a gift of food, funds or time to the Food Pantry. Your monetary contributions are also appreciated. Your financial contributions to our Food Pantry will be doubled thanks to a matching trust fund, doubling the effective-ness of your gift. We “shop” at the Food Bank for Westchester where a dollar will buy more food than you can imagine. Volunteers to help load bags from 8-9 a.m. are always appreciated. Call Todd Child @ 914 - 243 - 0806 or e-mail TODD@toddchild.com if you would like to help out one Saturday. The Brasserie Swiss Restaurant, located at 118 Croton Avenue in Ossining, will do-nate $10 to the Food Pantry for each church member who has dinner at the restaurant.
Our ongoing thanks to Panera of Yorktown and Cortlandt Manor, who each donate day old bread and pastries for our clients.	Special thanks to Shoprite, who donated pies for the Nov 21 food pantry.
Several members of our congregation have "gently used" toys that have been outgrown. As these toys are still usable, but not eligible for Toys for Tots, the Deacons decided to run a one week collection effort. The generosity of our members resulted in a room full of toys (photos at right) , which were offered to Food Pantry clients on December 12.

Mission/Deacons gave out school supply kits to children of Food Pantry Clients at the end of August.

Click here for photos

Thank you Panera Bread!

Panera Breads’ corporate policy has been to donate bread goods which are still good to eat, but no longer meet their strict guidelines for retail sale. Our Food Pantry has been the beneficiary of this corporate generosity for several years

The new Panera Breads in the Cortlandt Town Center has now joined the old Panera Breads in Yorktown in donating day- old bread to our Food Pantry. In light if the large increase in the number of clients served by the Food Pantry, this additional supply of bread has been very welcome.