July 3, 2024

June 22nd  and June 29th were busy mornings albeit visiting households were somewhat slightly lower than usual:

June 22 – 109 Households comprised of 418 individuals, 8 new households totaling 29 individuals.

June 29 – 117 households comprised of 404 individuals, 4 new households totaling 10 individuals.

Through May we were averaging 129 households per week; the current average has declined to 126 through June.

For the 1st half of 2024 we are running slightly above 2023 ; number of Households have increased 4% and individuals have increased 7%.

Estimated food distributed for the first 6 months is 163,000 pounds which provided approximately 136,000 meals.

The pantry garden continues to be a valued contribution supplement to our fresh vegetable offerings.  Current and pending plantings are heralding abundant harvests in the coming months. Including other in-kind contributions, we were able to offer an additional 1,687 pounds of fresh produce in July at no monetary expense to the  pantry.

Last week several high school students had the opportunity to tour the pantry and work in the garden. On Tuesday, approximately 20 students and leaders from Lutheridge Asheville Servant Adventure spent part of a very warm morning spreading mulch around the watermelon rows, then cooled off in the pantry while helping to place cartons of eggs in the refrigerator from the MANNA delivery. They also had an orientation of the shopping function, and we may have recruited some future volunteers!  On Thursday, students from Epiphany Episcopal-Atlanta received a grand tour of the pantry by Fr, J.

The pantry continues to be blessed by the many dedicated volunteers. Their generous gift of the many, many hours they give is invaluable. We are grateful for the Tuesday “Manna Delivery Day Crew” the Friday “Shopping Preparation Crew ”, the dedicated “Lord’s Acre Gardener Crew” and the Saturday “Shopper Assistance Crew”.  Thanks to each volunteer! 

We continue to recognize and thank partner churches, community members, civic organizations, schools, retirement communities, donors, foundations, and all who have contributed in some way to this ministry of service to those experiencing food insecurity.

 For The Executive Committee 

Fred Yopps