Food Pantry Update: The city program that has been funding our fresh produce is winding down.

Dear Friends of the Park Slope Food Pantry,

We enter spring with a strong team of volunteers leading our pantry and making fresh food available to more than 350 families every week, a solid reputation, and a community of guests who have built trust with the pantry.

But not all news is good news: The city program that had been funding our fresh produce is winding down, even while food insecurity in our community, around the city and country increases. What this means: We have less reliable financial and food support and yet there's plenty of work to do.

How you can help:

Donate.

• The quickest way to support is to make a contribution through our GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/manage/park-slope-food-pantry-at-camp-friendship

• If you want to donate without online fees, bring a check made out to "Camp Friendship" on Friday evenings from 6-7:30 or Saturday mornings from 9am-1pm to 339 8th Street—with "food pantry" in the memo—or mail it to Camp Friendship

• Organize your school, colleagues, block, building, congregation or other community and "adopt a week" for $4,500 (Raising less is still great! $4,500 guarantees coverage for the week). We know it's a lot—but the money all goes to the food we distribute.

Advocate.

• Tell your state and city elected officials to fully fund programs fighting food insecurity.

• Feeding New York is running this petition to fund state programs: https://p2a.co/bItFdib?fbclid=IwAR1R7ngZc-HrjSdHAhaS7aNAxvWEmZ_BGMvXo5PB2EtKtQmGE3QN6bpz90E

• You can also write directly to your representatives

  • Find your state senator here: https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator

  • Your state assembly member here: https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/

  • Or your city council member here: https://council.nyc.gov/map-widget/

Lend a...

• Can you lend your experience in fundraising, development or non-profit grants management to help identify grant opportunities, make introductions to funders, or otherwise join in our volunteer-driven development work?

• Can you lend your time to approaching local supermarkets to see if they would become corporate sponsors with financial or food contributions?

• Can you help support groups that want to organize collective donations or run their own events to raise funds for the pantry?

• And of course, you can always volunteer with the pantry directly though right now we have a good problem: Most shifts are full. That may always change with the seasons, so stay in touch. And we always need more folks who can delivery meals by car on Saturdays at noon or pick up food Friday evenings at 5:30pm — so if you have a car and want to hop behind the wheel for the pantry, let us know.

• Plus, we need your donations of non-perishable food that can be brought to Camp Friendship Friday evenings from 6-7:30pm or Saturday mornings 9am-1pm.

The pantry has seen remarkable support and has a strong base in Camp Friendship. We will keep doing this work and filling these need.

If you can help us through these challenges, we're grateful. And if you can keep up your friendship and support in any fashion, we appreciate it.