March 28, 2024

‘Tis the season to give

With the holiday season upon us and the hustle and bustle of school, work and family celebrations also comes the time of year where giving, to loved ones and those in need, takes center stage. As snow falls and temperatures dip below freezing, making sure everyone has enough to eat becomes a priority for the PCM Food Pantry.

“It is one of our biggest seasons. November is actually our highest month usually,” pantry organizer Ann Johnson said.

At a conference she recently attended, Johnson learned the holidays tend to cause a spike in need at pantries. Due to the stress of hosting a gathering or making sure Christmas is bright and merry, people often find themselves in need of a little extra help.

“People are going to have a holiday celebration and maybe don’t have enough for the regular stuff,” Johnson said. “We just want to be able to be ready to go for folks.”

The pantry, located at the Monroe Presbyterian Church, typically sees about 35 to 40 families each week. Due to the generosity of the local communities including Monroe and Prairie City, it has stayed filled with a variety of items for those it serves.

“I expect it to spike up as the month goes along. The closer we get to the holidays, I think we’ll see an increase,” Johnson said. “The communities are so generous, it is just amazing. We face very few times where we have a low amount of items because of the generosity. We’re really blessed.”

One girl scout group who recently reached out to the pantry said they were going to do a reverse advent this year, collecting items instead of receiving them, Johnson said. Other businesses, groups and organizations are often contacting the pantry to see what needs need to be filled.

Overall, the food pantry has seen a decline in the number of people using it this year. Johnson said an improved economy might be part of the reason with people getting jobs with a more substantial paycheck.

“We’re also starting to see people who are employed, but maybe they aren’t employed at a high enough level to support the family,” Johnson said. “We always want to encourage people are always welcome, we have people come and go. It is kind of encouraging when we have those times where we see people who have used the food pantry and then they find jobs and move on out. It is the cool part.”

For the holidays, items such as sugar, vanilla extract, pie fillings, desserts and potatoes are in higher demand compared to other times of the year.

“Sugar, definitely. Everybody likes to bake at Christmas,” volunteer Patty Eilander said.

The pantry does not do a special “box” of items for specific holidays, mostly due to the fact all items are available on a regular basis.

“We have everything, every week. We have meat, milk, eggs, bread. We have that every week that they can come and get,” volunteer Patty Duinink said.

The food pantry is open from 9 a.m. to noon and 6 to 7 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to noon Thursday. For more information about the pantry contact it on Facebook.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com