Since we began working with the Cambridge Food Pantry in March, the Army of Goods has sent more than 25,000 pounds of food to the pantry. I’m proud and thrilled to hear this. The final annual total will be higher.
A friend of mine said she no longer believed there was a God admit all of the hate, cruelty, and lying in the world. She said a priest told her that if she kept her eyes open, she would find God.
I felt the same way, but in recent months, I realized I had found my God: the Food Pantry, where people gather to do good for people who need their help. My idea of God is there, and if Jesus returns, I suspect that could be his church, where his love and empathy live daily. Thanks so much for your support. We are just getting started.
“The Army of Good has been a game-changer for our pantry,” says the pantry’s Executive Director, Sarah Harrington. “Since we started this idea in March 2024; it has provided real-time needs and has been wildly successful. I now have a bulletin board called “Nice Notes from Friendly People,” where I post the many encouraging notes from Army of Good members who arrived with Amazon orders. I put it next to our schedule so our volunteers get to read them.”
(Thanks, Army Of Good, for your “nice” notes to the pantry volunteers. I hope you’ll sell more.
Sarah’s news has made my day and brings faith and joy back into Christmas for me. But business is business. Today, in Christmas spirit, Sarah asks for help getting Can Openers, Ravioli, and Spaghettios. Many of the cans the pantry gets have tops, but most don’t, and we’ve learned lately that people who come for emergency food often get home to find they have no can openers – another twist to being poor and hungry. So Sarah is gathering some at the pantry to give out when necessary.
It’s not simple being poor and getting food in America. We didn’t realize that many people seeking emergency food don’t own can openers (or have stoves to cook on, only heater plates.)
Today’s Christmas week requests:
Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs, 14.5 Cans, Pack of $4.48.
Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli, 15 oz., 4 Pack, $4.48.
I was rarely but almost entirely speechless when I learned that we had sent 25,000 pounds of urgently needed and hard-to-find food to the food pantry. You have changed the pantry’s dynamic, and it is on its way to becoming the best food pantry in America.
In addition to getting what they desperately need, pantry members receive some food and things unavailable in the pantry or from its bank suppliers. This has been an enormous morale boost for these families and their children.
I wish you could see the difference you have made. It lifts my heart. This is where I find my idea of God. This is where I find the pleas of Jesus being answered.
I will never forget how you repeatedly rushed to the pantry’s aid, making it possible for every pantry member to have a full Thanksgiving dinner and repeatedly filling the shelves. Bless you a million times; you are my idea of God.
Doing good in a troubled world means as much to you as it does to me. Thank you. Sarah, thank you as well. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers at the food pantry.
Please feel free to send more of those nice notes. They are right where you sign off the Amazon purchase page. They love to receive them here.
These are difficult weeks for the pantry and the families it serves. Please help if possible. Everything on the Cambridge Wish List is out or gone from the shelves. These kids need shampoo, and their parents need soap. Thanks for thinking about it.
I hope you can help.
These items are currently discounted on the Amazon Wish List Program. You can also access the wish list by clicking the green button at the bottom of every blog post. Everything on the wish list is desperately needed. Feel free to browse some good presents on Christmas morning. Some, I’m told, will even be stocking stuffers.