A large amount of food will be given to Gage County families this holiday season, as several organizations and individuals gave donations to the Beatrice Community Pantry over the weekend.
Pantry director Karen Mains said donations came in so quickly that a number or weight of donations could not be determined.
The influx started on Thursday when Beatrice Health and Rehabilitation staff members donated roughly 500 pounds of items. Collectively, they donated more than 1,000 pounds of items to the pantry this year.
Roughly 6,000 sacks were left on peoples’ porches for the pantry’s “In Gathering" drive, which were then picked up on Saturday.
Mains said it was one of the best In Gathering she’s seen in a couple years, as 83 volunteers signed in to organize the food.
“You don’t know how empty our shelves were before this ‘In gathering’ started,” Mains said. “They were really empty. Now this morning, as we’re sorting and dating, it looks pretty full. Hopefully, this will last us until February or March.”
Beatrice Public Schools’ food drive also ended last week. The high school staff alone brought in 325 items.
Then on Monday, the Beatrice Sertoma Club donated $1,000 to the pantry for food and personal items.
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Mains told members of the Sertoma Club that the pantry feeds roughly 5,000 people a year, and that they see about 13 new individuals each month.
Individuals can visit the pantry once a month, where they get enough food to feed them for about a week.
Mains said she has several agreements with local businesses and organizations to receive free or discounted items for the pantry, which is what monetary donations like Sertoma’s goes towards. She also said there are a couple businesses that donate turkeys closer to the holidays.
“I just want to thank the community for what they have done over the past years…The community has just come together every time. All the churches, organizations, individuals, they have been really good to our food pantry,” Mains said.
Mains said the pantry is currently low on cereal and canned meats like tuna, ham, turkey, chicken and Spam. She also said the pantry is always in need of personal items not covered by food stamps, like toilet paper, paper towels, detergent and shampoo, as well as crackers, healthy children’s snacks, eggs, butter, bread and cooking oils.
The pantry is located in the St. John’s basement, 701 N. Sixth St., and accepts donations at any time.
Individuals requiring food from the pantry should call 402-223-5306 and schedule an appointment.
