Any time of year is a good time for donations to the Hastings Food Pantry, and that’s no different during the holidays.
“Our demand is really steady,” said Don Gronemeyer, who became president of the Hastings Food Pantry’s board of directors about a month ago.
He is one of about 45 volunteers who work at the Hastings Food Pantry. He began volunteering there about seven years ago, after he retired from his position as Alcott Elementary principal.
“Volunteers is what makes this work,” he said.
They sort and pack the donated food.
“We’re like a lot of places,” he said. “If it wasn’t for volunteers, we’d be falling on our faces.”
The pantry provided food for more than 400 people in October and supplies food for the Hastings High School backpack program, which sends 25 high school students home with backpacks full of food every weekend.
“This time of year we hate to see anybody not have the food they need through the holidays, so we want to make sure we step up and do everything can to help the community,” he said.
Hastings Food Pantry officials see their purpose as providing the daily needs people have, whether it’s the holidays or not.
Gronemeyer said certain items are always needed.
“Some of them are staple things,” he said. “For instance, we’re short right now on soup, Jell-O, pudding,” he said.
The Food Pantry has an ample supply of cans of tomato and chicken noodle soups, but is in need of all other kinds.
The Food Pantry also is in need of packages of seasoned rice and pasta dishes.
One of the pantry’s biggest needs, Gronemeyer said, is money.
What a lot of people may not realize, he said, is that Hastings Food Pantry purchases a lot of items to supplement what it doesn’t get in donations.
“So one of the things we’re really kind of short on right now is money to purchase those things,” Gronemeyer said. “For every order that goes out, we spend about $8 to $10 for vouchers for milk, eggs, cheese, those kinds of things we can’t keep on hand. That’s cash out of our pocket. If they don’t want to collect canned goods, even monetary donations are greatly appreciated.”
Recently, the Food Pantry has had to purchase goods such as ground beef and dish soap.
Donations can be dropped off at the pantry, at 918 W. Fourth St., inside the east wing of the First St. Paul’s Lutheran Church annex building. Donors can also arrange a pick-up by calling the Pantry at 402-463-2911.
Monetary donations can also be dropped off, or mailed to the pantry.
A handful of local churches also provide monetary support.
“That’s always really appreciated because, like I said, people probably don’t know we’re providing vouchers and that does cost us some money,” he said.
During the holiday season, the Hastings Food Pantry benefits from a food drive organized by Adams Central students as well as from the annual Tri-City Food Fight, which pits the Hastings Museum, Stuhr Museum in Grand Island and Archway in Kearney against each other to see who can raise the most food for local food pantries during the holiday season.
Food Pantry volunteers collect, sort and weigh food left at the museum, including a big collection recently given by Hastings Utilities.
“Both of those have been great help in getting our cupboards filled up again,” Gronemeyer said.
