Food Buddies Update! Thank you Plymouth!
Food Buddies completed another year delivering weekend back pack meals to food insecure students at Hubbell Elementary School. Plymouth provided meals for fifty students this year, a total of 1,950 meals. Regular bags are provided each week and double bags with larger, family sized items are sent during the longer breaks at Christmas and Spring Break. These larger bags help families when their students are not at school eating breakfast and lunch each day.
Plymouth continued to provide classroom snacks for Hubbell this year. The snacks are available for teachers to give to students when they are hungry and not concentrating on class work. Plymouth members very generously donated snack items throughout the year.
Food Buddies partners with DMARC to purchase some meal items at a reduced cost. This partnership has helped to make our dollars go farther. Food Buddies also partners with the Little Free Pantry Committee. Food Buddies receives funds from the Thanksgiving Special Offering. Both monetary and food donations from Plymouth members help with expenses.
Thanks to all of the Food Buddy volunteers for your support this year! We have a wonderful group helping to make this happen. Volunteers help pack meals, deliver them to Hubbell weekly, pick up empty totes from Hubbell, order and pick up groceries, and much more. Thanks to everyone who contributed to Food Buddies. All funds received are used to purchase food. Everything else is done by volunteers! Good job, Plymouth Food Buddies! This ministry is a wonderful outreach to help students in need at one of our neighborhood schools.
About Food Buddies:
Food Buddies is a volunteer program. Meals are packed by volunteers twice a month before the Saturday night service at Plymouth. Groceries are purchased by volunteers. Meals are delivered to Hubbell by volunteers. The only cost for the program is the food to fill the bags.
Want to help? Volunteers to help with packing meals are always welcome. Substitute meal deliverers and grocery shoppers are needed when regulars are not available. This provides an opportunity to help but not commit to a regular schedule, and would be greatly appreciated.
Food or financial donations help too. As we all know, food costs have gone up and our dollars do not go as far as they used to. Food Buddies has the same problem. Food donations for Food Buddies can be left in the donation box in the first floor hallway and the donation bins on the second floor. Financial donations are always welcome and can be given to Plymouth by a check or using Church Center with the notation that the donation is for Food Buddies.
Below is the list of suggested food items to donate.
Questions? Want to help? Contact Robin Maharry (rlmaharry@gmail.com)
Food Buddies and Hubbell Snacks Items to Donate
Food items to donate can be left in the Food Buddies bin on the lower level or on or in the donation bin across from the Welcome Desk. Items for Food Buddies should be placed on the right-hand side of the donation bin and marked with Hubbell or Food Buddies.
Individually packaged:
Food Buddies:
Peanut butter – 16 oz. jars
Fruit cups – 4 oz. juice pack
Easy Mac Cups
Chef Boyardee Ravioli, Beefaroni, Lasagna 7.5 oz. Cups
Granola Bars
Hubbell Classroom Snacks:
The goal is to provide nutritious snacks that don’t have a lot of sugar. Each snack should be individually wrapped and easy for a student to eat in the classroom without utensils.
Raisins or Craisins – 1 oz. boxes
Squeezable fruit pouches – 3.2 oz.Granola bars individually wrapped
Gold Fish Crackers Snack Packs
Belvita Bites Snack Packs
Scooby Doo! Baked Graham Cracker Snack Bags
Peanut Butter or Cheese Snack Cracker Packages
Pirates Booty Puffs Snack Bags
Boom Chicka Pop Snack Bags
Sun Chips Whole Grain Snack Bags
Trail mix snack bags