Heights Interfaith Ministries Food Pantry Logo

FOOD DISTRIBUTION

Thursdays 4pm – 6pm
Saturdays 10am – 12pm

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Heights Interfaith Ministries Food Pantry Logo

Food Distribution

Thursdays 4pm – 6pm
Saturdays 10am – 12pm

CLICK TO VOLUNTEER

Food Distribution:

Thursdays 4 pm – 6 pm
Saturdays 10 am – Noon

September, 2020 – News From The Pantry

 

 

 

We are small, yet mighty!
 

These last 6 months have been a unique time for us all. So many have joined together to help our neighbors, you among them. Since March, we’ve served more than 150,000 pounds of food to 2,900 families including 11,600 individuals. You have stepped up to:

  • Shop for our needs and bring cases of non-perishable items to the pantry
  • Sort hundreds of pounds of perishable food each week
  • Pick up donated bread, sweets, meat, milk and more from grocers and restaurants
  • Unload pallets of food from the Houston Food Bank
  • Hold food drives, sort product and stock our shelves
  • Pitch in to reinforce our shed, install easier ramps, fill cracks, increase our outside lighting, and clean up minor floods from busted water heaters and overworked A/C units
  • Deal with the hot and humid Houston weather while managing traffic, loading product into cars and talking with each client individually
  • Enter computer data to track our client visits as well as volunteer hours
  • Tell your friends and neighbors about us and our needs
  • ….and so much more!

Our Board of Directors is a group of dedicated individuals from our sponsor churches. Each has worked tirelessly for this little neighborhood pantry. Our volunteers come from all over the city, each, I hope, finding a home that welcomes and appreciates their efforts.

We have been blessed to receive grants from the Houston Food Bank, the Leslie L. Alexander Foundation, Whole Foods, First Tennessee Advisers, and individual community members. We have received financial donations from those in our neighborhood and from donors hailing from Indiana, Maine, Connecticut and more. A long-time community and St. Mark’s Methodist Church member Dr. Betty J. Barr kept us in her thoughts and left funds to the Pantry at her passing.

In 2019, we logged more than 6,200 volunteer hours or the equivalent of more than 3 full time employees. In 2020, we’ve already logged more than 6,300 volunteer hours with more than 5,070 of those hours since March 1.

This is a difficult time. You continue to step up and give us strength to do our small part to help our neighbors with joy and grace. Amidst all the challenge, we recognized Alice Bongers, our founder and director for our first decade. A mural honoring Alice and created by Veronica Cabrera-Moreno now highlights our volunteer entrance. We are glad that our small operation has continued to grow and thrive since 2009. The people we serve need us and we are happy to be here to serve. We’re not big, but what we do is mighty and joyful. I thank you for your support in every way you provide it.

Terri Dougherty
Executive Director
832-378-5444

 

 

 

Click here to Volunteer or Donate today!

 

 

Our Community Comes Through

  • Getting food from the Houston Food Bank became less reliable as they transitioned from routine supplier to disaster relief agency. Thanks to the willing volunteers who stepped in to keep our shelves stocked–Jane Ista, Lisa Moore, Daniel Fuentes, Tom Cronin, Laurie Hardwick, Ji Rim, Frances Barbini and Charlie Vasquez! If you’d like to join our shopping crew, email the Pantry and we will share our shopping list each week – all expenses are reimbursed.
  • Alex Euscher, Bellaire HS senior, collected more than 600 pounds of food for the Pantry, Brownie Troop 122264 delivered food, stocked shelves and learned about the Pantry’s mission, while Brownie Troop 118082 brought delicious Girl Scout cookies. St. Mark’s Methodist Church filled Frank with their church food drive.
  • Borden Dairy and The FarmLink Project supplied the Pantry with fresh milk every week for 2 months, Yellowbird Sauce spiced things up by donating a variety of their special hot sauces and Apple Spice Catering provided fresh bread for weeks.
  • Zion Lutheran Church & Preschool collected a ton of food from friends, members and Woodland Heights residents helping fill some of the gap on our shelves.
  • Memorial Hermann provided 600 packets with COVID-19 safety information and reusable masks for our clients. Jennifer Paschke, Marge Henriott and Karen Henderson have supplied volunteers and clients with countless handmade masks. 
  • Donations from Kroger, Aldi, Panera Bread, Trader Joe’s via Second Servings, Kolache Shoppe and Starbucks continued to assist our clients.

 

 

 

New Thursday Schedule Starts in November

To keep clients and volunteers safe, we will shift our Thursday distribution schedule to 4-5:30 PM beginning November 5. As we lose the evening light, our drive-through distribution cannot be done safely in the dark, so an earlier start and finish is required. Volunteer shifts on Thursday will be moving as well, so watch Sign Up Genius for those changes.

 

 

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