We added 33 new client households last month. We added another 21 households just this week. This sharp increase in clients has forced me to make the difficult decision to suspend financial assistance services for a few months. This was a hard decision because so many places have stopped offering this type of program. The demand right now is just overwhelming.
Cash donations typically drop during the summer months and it is going to be a challenge to absorb this much increase in our food distribution. Our primary mission is to feed people. That must be the priority. Except for the assists funded by Smoke Rise Baptist, financial assistance will have to wait.
I am so proud of our clients. When they are shopping through the pantry, they are careful to only take what they will use. They are also careful not to take more than their allotment. Except for the donations that come to us in unusable condition, we have zero waste.
We have opened the playroom thanks to a generous donation. The children love it. We have started our Take a Book Home program. As an avid reader, I love seeing all the little people walking out with books tucked under their arms. The last mother of the day insisted her boys pick up the playroom before they left. That was so thoughtful. They did a great job.
Sometimes it feels like two steps forward and one step back. The important thing is that people are getting the food they need. We get a lot of encouragement from our clients and our volunteers are handling the increase like the pros they are.
It’s the end of a very busy week. We did our job, and everyone has been fed. It makes it a just little easier to live with the decision to suspend financial assistance. We did our best.
Jackie
