Branch Area Food Pantry

We are you. We are the people who need help. We are the ones who got stuck between that proverbial rock and hard place. Some of us need help every once in a while. Some of us need more help. We receive a box of food every other month. Currently, we can receive bread once a week. In the summer, the Community Garden (staffed by board members and volunteers) grows organic vegetables. We can receive fresh veggies anytime they are available. We are greeted with a smile; we are all treated with dignity. Some of us are very ashamed that we need to ask for help. All of us leave with food. We are you. We are the volunteers. We are the ones who donate our time. Some of us are challenged physically, emotionally, and/or mentally. We all have ‘jobs' at the pantry. We are all successful because we are needed and loved. We do whatever we can do, and we are wanted. Some of us are retired. We have worked and now, we have the privilege to donate our time. We are students who are learning the value of ‘giving forward.' We are participants who want to ‘give back.' Some of us volunteer a few hours a month, some of us volunteer for the holidays, some of us volunteer hundreds of hours a year. In total, we have thousands of volunteer hours each year. We all have a passion for the Branch Area Food Pantry. We are you. We are the donors. We donate food and money. We give whatever we can. Some of us give from our need; we have a little, but we know what it is like to have nothing. So, we give. Some of us give from our excess; we have more, but remember what it is like to have little. Some of us grow vegetables, have hens that lay eggs, and harvest deer. We give what we have. We shop from our pantry shelves and give. We buy extras at the grocery store and give. We shop for bargains and give. We have learned that no matter what we give, we receive so much more. We are you. We are blessed to be a part of a community who helps. The Branch Area Food Pantry only exists because of you. We "Feed the Hungry" because you care, because you believe, because you love.