November, 2022 – News From The Pantry

We’ve grown and adjusted for more than 13 years, beginning by serving three Heights area ZIP codes and expanding to serve the full Houston area. We moved from providing a grocery bag of items to providing a box of dry goods, fresh eggs, fresh produce and basic toiletries for all of our clients. With community support, we also provide fresh bread, sweets, meat, sandwiches, and more.

We’ve had our challenges – from growth, hurricanes and pandemics. Our current challenges include stocking the shelves to provide nutritious consistency to our clients AND having enough volunteers to receive, sort, bag and distribute food each week. With current prices, the cost is close to $45 per client for the basic products we provide – that doesn’t include sandwiches, meat, meals, and more! We prepare to serve 160 clients each week, adding up to $7200 a week! Ordering from the Houston Food Bank at deeply discounted prices coupled with community donations and food drives helped us serve close to 5,000 clients to date, at a fraction of the retail cost.

Unfortunately, the supply chain struggles have affected us and ordering key products from the Houston Food Bank has been severely curtailed. We can order fresh produce, but sourcing non-perishable goods, eggs and toiletries is becoming more and more difficult – just when prices are increasing overall. Additionally, we need 40 volunteers each week to serve our clients. Along with the basic products we purchase, we receive donations of bread, sweets, meals, sandwiches and more – all need to be checked and sorted. This allows us to provide more than 60 pounds of food to each client every time they come. What a blessing!

As we move into the holiday season, know that we are grateful for your interest and support of our little corner. You make a difference – with your time (volunteer shifts and volunteer shoppers), talent (fixing electrical plugs, lights, and more), and treasure (your donations help pay for our necessary shopping trips!).

We wish you all the best, and we’ll provide an end of year impact report to you in January!

Terri Dougherty
Executive Director, Heights Interfaith Ministries