Birchwood Area Food Pantry

Currently the Pantry has more than 30 volunteers who give of their time and talents to run every aspect of our operations.  We have no paid employees, only dedicated people who give freely to help provide food for those in need.  We unload the food delivery truck twice a month, stock the shelves and inventory food supplies.  Our food shoppers shop as needed for perishables and food staples not available through the food depository.  Volunteers are on hand every Friday to pack the “backpacks” for our “Kids Backpack Program” which furnishes food to our Birchwood School Students for the weekend and when school is not in session during the school year.  Volunteers deliver food to shut-ins in the area twice a month on days when the Pantry is open for distribution.  We also staff the pantry on distribution days to help our clients with their grocery selections.  We help empty grocery carts, weigh each order and help load the orders in their vehicles.  We do our own maintenance of our building, being sure that it is clean and up to standard.  As with any organization, we create a lot of paperwork; we must keep track of poundage, numbers of individuals, their ages as well as the number of families; we need volunteers to take care of our records.  While all this is going on each and every month, there is a dedicated Board of Directors who oversees every aspect of the Pantry programs.  They make all decisions regarding its operation.  All communications to the community come through the Board, the newspaper articles you read every month, semi-annual newsletters, announcements and advertisements.  Further, the Board also plans and oversees the fund raising activities for the year and enlists the help of all fellow volunteers to carry-out these plans.