We considered holding off on asking for donations. However, I learned that more than 150 family children in the Children’s Backpack Weekend Hunger Program need help and have requested weekend food assistance. The number of requests from pantry families for the program doubled from last year—no wonder they need a hand.
The explosive growth of children needing this program was unexpected and unpredictable.
No child in this or any country should expect to be hungry for a weekend when school closes. This plea will be up all weekend.
(More Good News: Sarah’s Kitchen Supply Self is a big hit, as shown above: “We are already out of cooking utensils,” she said. “The kitchen supply shelf is a huge success. There is a lot of interest. Thanks for your supporting this innovative and instantly popular idea. We’ll keep building; Sarah wants her Kitchen Supply Self to grow rapidly. Only four utensil boxes are left; they will be gone by tonight. Thanks, more to come.)
So, we have put up a list of urgently needed items and will keep it up through the weekend; all are at modest prices. One crisis can’t wait for another. These families acknowledge that when the children are out of food and away from school lunch programs, they often have nothing or little to eat on weekends and thus dread being out of School on Fridays.
The backpack program, supported by Cambridge Central School and operated by Cambridge Pantry volunteers, is essential to these families. Over the weekend, I plan to send the three requested items to the pantry on the blog every day. The kids pick up their backpacks this coming Thursday. Last night, we bought out the oatmeal in minutes with just three breakfast items to go.
Here are the three items the backpackers most need:
Carnation Breakfast Essentials, Power Drink Mix, Rich Milk Chocolate, 1.26 (Pack of 22), $9.97.
(And even more good news: The family of Jane Riek, an artist friend of ours in the Mansion Memory Care Unit, died last year, and in her honor, the family donated $1,000 to the Cambridge Food Pantry yesterday. Jane was an incredible artist and a wonderful human being. It is wonderful to see her honored in this generous and needed way. Thanks).
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You can access 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. Thank you for browsing and making your donations. We appreciate your help.
From the Amazon checkout page, you can send Sara and the Cambridge Pantry Volunteers messages of hope and appreciation for their work.
Thanks for your help with the backpack program. We hope to fulfill these wish list requests before the backpacks are assembled at Cambridge Central High School on Thursday.
Pantry Volunteers