The Columbus Food Pantry issued its End-of-Year report. 2022 was another challenging year for the Columbus Food Pantry amidst the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cou- pled with inflation.
The report is as follows: Thanks to the considerate donations of friends like you, the Columbus Food Pantry was able to fill the gap for many families in our community.
All board members and food pantry workers are volunteers. Every dollar given to the Columbus Food Pantry is used to meet the direct needs of the Pantry in its service to the community. We rely solely on the generosity of the community in both the giving of monetary donations and time.
During 2022, The Columbus Food Pantry provided food to an average of 227 households a month with the highest month being 285; this was a six percent increase over the 213 households a month we averaged during 2021.
We averaged 192 households a month in 2020. We served an average of 691 people each month, with the highest month being 914 people. The numbers steadily increased as the year progressed.
In addition to cash donations, we received donations of food products from our local-area grocery stores and Walmart .
We also were the beneficiary of several food drives at local area schools, churches, and community events.
We continued to augment the monthly food bags for most of the year to include fresh vegetables, eggs, and more meat, including turkeys in November and hams in December. A couple of months we were able to add a third bag of staple items. But we also had to start cutting back near the end of the year as prices rose on certain items, like eggs, which quadrupled in price.
On average, we spent approximately $4,967 per month in 2022 on food purchases, up from $4,500 per month in 2021 and $3,000 in 2020.
Board-Initiative Highlights from 2022 were: Partnered with the counselor at the Columbus Junior High for 2022-2023 to continue to provide snacks and meal assistance for at-risk students (see more details below). On occasion, we were able to procure baby products (diapers, wipes, toys, food) from the food bank that we passed on to other nonprofit groups to dis tribute to those in need.
We look forward to continuing our work in 2023 to raise community awareness of the Columbus Food Pantry and the purpose it serves.
We continued to supply the Columbus Junior High to help stock a “food closet” that the counselor can use to assist food insecure students. These are simple, kid-friendly options that don’t require additional ingredients and can be eaten as is. A few items can be heated in a microwave if the student has access to one on the weekends.
Other CISD campuses have expressed they do not have a need or the need has been met.
While we appreciate all donations, we ask that if you are considering giving to the Food pantry or organizing a fundraiser on our behalf, you consider giving monetarily. Our trained volunteers must inspect any food product donated to ensure it is not expired and meets the food labeling requirements.
Did you know that a $1 donation can purchase 5 pounds of food? For these reasons, we do encourage monetary giving over product donation, when possible, so we can maximize efficiencies with volunteer staff and the purchasing power of your donation.
For questions about the food pantry operations, please contact us at (979) 500-4292 or via email at columbusfoodpantry@gmail. com.
