Today is an important day at the pantry as 2025 gets underway. Sarah continues her plans for kitchen utensils that people living in motels or tiny apartment buildings often can’t afford.
These tools, such as the stainless steel can opener, are already a huge hit with Cambridge Food Pantry members. We take this for granted, but most families don’t have stoves or proper pans, spoons, stirrers, etc.
These items are much more than they seem. They raise morale, make cooking more straightforward and more sanitary and manageable, and give the people using them hope.
Sarah will soon post kitchen utility kits to help the pantry families. I thought about my kitchen utensils and understood the importance of what Sarah was doing. We put 20 test utility kits on the shelves, and everyone was gone in seconds.
Today, Sarah requests two items that have much more meaning than we might know.
“Our kitchen supply shelf has been very popular from the beginning,” she told me this morning. “Many times, when people have to relocate quickly, they are unable to bring their kitchen supplies with them. We can help them with food, but they also need the means to open cans and cook food. This shelf has been a blessing.”
Every day, I learn a little more than I knew about what it means to be poor and deprived of food. In that way, Sarah is a blessing to us all. We can’t wipe away hunger (yet), but we can provide hope.
The other item on today’s support list – Cranberry juice – is also more critical than it might seem:
According to WebMD, Cranberry juice is rich in antioxidants and essential nutrients that support a healthy immune system and heart. It may also help with recurring urinary tract infections. Thus, cranberry juice can be a good addition to a balanced diet.
They’re among the few fruits high in proanthocyanidin antioxidants linked to many health benefits.23 These include antimicrobial effects, immune and brain support, and protection against cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.24
Sarah’sList:
Happy Belly Juice Cocktail, Cranberry Plastic Bottle, 64 fl oz (Pack of 1), $2.99
From the Amazon checkout page, you can send Sarah and the Cambridge Pantry volunteers messages of hope and appreciation for their work.
You can also see the Cambridge Pantry Amazon Food Wish List by clicking on any link or the green box at the bottom of every blog post. The list is updated regularly, and everything on it is urgently needed. Thanks for your help.
Volunteer