Food Pantry Donations Needed

With the approaching holidays, more people will be coming in for food. We challenge organizations, businesses and individuals to hold food drives and collect food to donate to the many families that patron the New Hope Food Pantry in Olathe. As of the end of September 2013, the Food Pantry had served food to 13,705 people for the year. It’s hard to believe that this kind of hunger exists in Johnson County, one of the wealthiest counties nationally, but it’s here.

With Thanksgiving approaching fast, we are thankful for many things. Don’t forget to be thankful for the food on your table, as there are people that could be living close to you or working with you that are scraping just to get by and need help. Please consider taking the time to collect donations. You can urge your employer to hold a food drive, you can collect personal donations from friends and neighbors, or ask the president of an organization you belong to to hold a food drive along with an upcoming event. If you think you know someone in need of help, please direct them to our site ( http://bit.ly/NHfood ) for more information. Be the difference! Give the blessing of food assistance this holiday season!

 

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Here’s just a few of the October Mobile Food Pantry volunteers that helped on 10/12/13.

October Mobile Food Pantry in Johnson County

The October mobile food pantry in Johnson County brought many hungry people from the community to pick up produce, dairy, bread and other hand outs. Over 1,000 people were served, of which 504 of them were local children in need. New Hope Presbyterian Church in Olathe is so grateful to Harvesters of Kansas City for allowing us to partner with them and serve our neighbors in need by providing a truck full of food for the community. Though the pickup doesn’t begin until around 10:30 am, cars started lining up earlier than 6:00 am to be at the front of the line that when all was said and done had almost 190 cars in it.

A huge thank you to the 26 volunteers that came out starting as early as 6 am to direct traffic, check cars in, sort the Harvesters drop off and distribute the food. Volunteers came from a variety of churches including The Branches Baptist Church, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 1st Baptist of Olathe, and New Hope Presbyterian Church, as well as some high school students from Heritage Christian Academy. The mood was jovial and a feeling of camaraderie was felt by all! Praise be to God for the love and goodness felt by all and spread to many!

 

(Pictured below: Scott Borden loads grapes into a a van as many volunteers man their stations)

September Mobile Food Pantry

The September Mobile Food Pantry will be held Saturday, September 14th at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Olathe, KS. We serve any Johnson County resident in need of food assistance. The Harvesters truck arrives around 9:30 am, but food doesn’t start getting distributed until about 10:30 am, because a certain amount of sorting is necessary after the drop off. The August Mobile Food Pantry served 228 households, so you can imagine the line of cars to get food. 

Though you can come anytime before the last car, and still get served, people start lining up early that morning to be first in line and ensure to get a portion of all the food dropped off. The Mobile Food Pantry is always the second Saturday of each month, though New Hope Presbyterian Church has a food pantry open Monday-Friday from 1pm-6pm currently.

If you have questions regarding the food pantry or food assistance in Johnson County, feel free to call the food pantry at 913-782-0955. New Hope Presbyterian Church is located at 13310 S. Blackbob Rd in Olathe, KS. We always are in need of volunteers to help. May God bless our community.

August Mobile Food Pantry Served Over 1000 People

The August Mobile Food Pantry served over 1000 people! Wow, those are staggering numbers of need! The exact count was 1065 individuals. The breakdown is 485 children, 503 adults and 77 seniors proving that a Johnson County food assistance program is necessary in a county dripping with wealth.

If you would like to get involved in the New Hope Presbyterian Church Food Pantry there are a couple ways you can help. You can hold a food drive. The shelves have been fairly bare this month because of all the people coming through needing assistance this summer.  Whether you’re a business or a private individual, you can hold a food drive either by collecting it in a barrel at a public location or by simply putting the word out via email or social media to your friends and collecting donated food or money.

You can also help by volunteering your time at the food pantry. The food pantry is open Monday-Friday from 1pm-6pm and you can help by working in the pantry, or picking up food at local pick up sites. This is a very rewarding and charitable contribution to our community because we demonstrate our love for Christ by loving our neighbor.

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Volunteers loading food at the Harvesters Mobile Food Pantry held every 2nd Saturday at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Olathe.

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Jim Linker watches over the Johnson County Mobile Food Pantry on August 10th, 2013. “We don’t have the numbers in yet, but I think it was one of our largest groups of people to come through yet!”

Johnson County Mobile Food Pantry in Olathe

New Hope Presbyterian Church hosts a Johnson County Mobile Food Pantry in Olathe on the second Saturday of every month, that is partnered with the Kansas City Harvesters. Today was no exception, and was extremely busy. It is hard for some people to understand that there are families in need in Johnson County because of the wealth that exists here, but todays turnout is definitely evidence there is need.

Stories were heard today of people that have lost their jobs, multiple families living together just to get by and families with adults that have special needs  that don’t work, along with many other heart breaking stories. Patrons of todays Mobil Food Pantry asked for prayers for a variety of needs like work, health problems & living conditions and many are so thankful to get a helping hand. The volunteers are so thankful to be part of this cause which is why many show up every month to take part in making a difference.

Though food starts being distributed around 10:30am, cars started lining up as early as 5am this morning to be at the front of the line. The last car was served around noon, and because it is first come first served, unfortunately not everything lasts until the very last car. The New Hope Food Pantry is open Monday through Friday from 1pm – 6pm, however the Mobil Food Pantry provides more perishable food like fruits, vegetables and other items not readily available during the pantry’s regular working hours.

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1 John 4:21 And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:21 And…