Saturday, we welcomed 142 families representing 502 individuals. There were 3 new families representing 8 family members. Thank you, all volunteers and our Spanish and Ukraine interpreters for your assistance with shopping.
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Not only was it a busy day at the pantry with 120 families shopping throughout the morning, we welcomed a Mission Group, Faith Alive, from Hickory in the afternoon. They were spending the weekend at Lutheridge and part of their weekend was to volunteer in the garden and tour the pantry. They arrived at 2:00 on Saturday, and worked hard in the garden spreading a tarp over the watermelons and placing sandbags on the edge of tarp to hold it in place. They weeded and mulched the raised beds experiencing many tasks involved in growing organic produce for the pantry, The last part of the afternoon, they toured the pantry, stocked a few of the shelves, straightened the cans, broke down the cardboard - recycled it and wrote over 100 cards to our neighbors which will be distributed this Saturday. A Good Time was had by all!!!
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There's a saying......"When it rains...it pours!" And that can be a good thing! Think of our current drought conditions just in our area! Our weekend rains were welcomed at my home. For the past several months we have been advertising in our newsletter for additional support for Spanish speaking individuals to assist us on Saturdays at the pantry. Rosa reached out to us from Manna with recommendations of individuals who were interested in assisting. We truly appreciate the staff at Manna reaching out the hand of friendship. This is important as we shop with our "neighbors" to be able to communicate with them.
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When the Manna truck delivered our order last Wednesday, there were several large pallets of items including ones that have been sparse since Hurricane Helene. Not only was there meat, but also several hundred pounds of vegetables. (cabbage, carrots, turnips) As a reminder, each week we offer enough food for 11 meals or 3 1/2 days of food which includes meat, milk, eggs, bread, peanut butter, fruits, vegetables, and extra proteins. Other items we received were flour and cornmeal, for baking.... which were very popular in the distribution on Saturday. Mayo, ketchup, oil, and jelly are condiments, we are offer from Manna most weeks. Salad dressing, vinegar, and sauces were delivered in what Manna calls mixed boxes. Our neighbors are appreciative when we can offer salad dressing and toppings. Inquiring minds might ask, “What are their favorite toppings?” Ranch or Italian dressing!
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What a day filled with happiness this past Saturday! The shelves were filled to the brim thanks to the extra pickups from Manna and Sav-Mor. Thank you Doug A. and Kim P. for your team of ready willing and waiting volunteers to unload the truck filled with pallets at our dock. Neighbors were overjoyed to find an assortment of meat to select from and a variety of fresh produce especially the carrots, beets, colorful bell peppers, tomatoes, and apples. Did I mention the generous donation of 100's of seed packets! As our neighbors exited the parking lot, a table filled with veggie seed and herbs were offered to one and all!
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Timing is everything!!! What a perfect week for MANNA to hold the Manna Souper Bowl Day of Caring. The event was staged at our Ingles across the street from our pantry. On Thursday afternoon, volunteers from the pantry supported the effort by attending the event and Martha shared information about our pantry. What a successful Manna campaign to assist with food insecurity in our community.
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We were disappointed that dangerous, icy, and snowy conditions last Saturday required that we close the Food Pantry to neighbors and volunteers alike. Happily we are able to receive our normal Manna and milk deliveries this week and we will resume our normal schedule Saturday, February 7.
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Whew dodged a big one last Saturday morning! The ditty "Snow Snow go away, Come again another day......" didn't keep 38 volunteers plus a van of Christ School students away. Many thanks for your effort assisting with the food distribution for our ""neighbors." The day was frigid and blustery ....... again many thanks hardy souls!
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Who doesn't like surprises! Recently we've been surprised with some very special donations. It began with cases of Poppy Popcorn...aah tasty comfort food for these cold days. Could it get any better....I arrived at the Pantry last week and a van was entering our parking lot. A gentleman from the Civitans offered us cases of delicious Old Fashion Claxton Fruitcakes. We were just about to walk out the door after our Saturday distribution when Christie and Andrew Pickle arrived with boxes filled with new T-Shirts. All items are offered to our "neighbors" as a bonus for the day. We appreciate the donations from our local companies, civic groups, and members of our community. Last Saturday 168 families received the fruitcakes.
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Talk about HARDY Volunteers! Last Saturday was one for the record books. No one complained about the cool damp morning and steady downpour of over two inches of rain. As you are aware, we've had a stretch of dry days. However, only Dan was achieving the "rain dance" as he distributed numbers to our neighbors. Thank you volunteers for assisting in this very cool soaking morning.
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Happy New Year! Only at the Pantry would you get breaking news like this! On January 1, 2026, we harvested our first produce for 2026! Doug, Beth, Martha, and Dan gathered 143 pounds of lettuce and carrots that were distributed on Saturday. Tried to capture the many volunteers who arrived on Saturday early to help us kick off the New Year and take their pic. Appreciate you helping us have a successful morning at the pantry! Thank You!
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Looking for a New Year's Resolution?! How about starting with volunteering on January 2, 2026 stocking the shelves from 8:45 to 10:00, or helping distribute food on January 3 between 8:00-11:00! We can promise miles of smiles, snacks and hot beverages, and an opportunity to reach out and help our community.
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There's a saying...about Reaching out the Hand of Friendship...That just spoke to me this week as I was reflecting on You, our readers, and our community at large. Rita wrote a grant, titled PB&J, and submitted it to THRIVENT. She was awarded enough funding to purchase several hundred pounds of peanut butter, jelly, and crackers and other items for our pantry. Radiant Church held a food drive for Thanksgiving. They had several hundred pounds of food they offered us for distribution and several pre-lit Christmas trees with ornaments. All items were offered to our neighbors on this past Saturday.
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OY! JOY! JOY!! What a JOYFUL past seven days! Joy last Wednesday as we received a Manna Delivery filled with eggs, meat and produce! JOY from Monty and Carrie from FMUC delivering 180 pounds of food. JOY on Friday, when volunteers stocked the shelves and bagged the produce for Saturday distribution. JOY on Saturday as our 141 neighbors received shopping carts filled with healthy food and were offered Christmas decorations by Lois and Liz. JOY for the Christmas Trees and ornaments donated by Radiant Church.
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Walnut Cove Members Association's mission since its founding is volunteering to strengthen nonprofit organizations in our community. Walnut Cove members have volunteered thousands of hours to local charities. Our pantry has been awarded a grant to purchase food throughout 2026. Several residents of Walnut Cove volunteer regularly with us. We give thanks for the generosity of the WCMA – members, volunteers, corporate partners, and grantees that make all this possible for local non-profits.
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All Hands on Deck! That was the call before our regular gathering time around 7:45. We began assembling the volunteers around 7:20 who had arrived early and started our "neighbor shopping." The Pantry and Church parking lots were full and cars were lined up on Old Airport Road. Volunteers were stationed inside the pantry for regular shopping and other volunteers were located in the parking lot assisting with the distribution of our Thanksgiving meal, assisting with traffic, distributing numbers, and returning carts to pantry.
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Feel that energy?! Our Pantry for the past month has been "Magnetic!" Preston Blakely, Mayor of Fletcher, delivered a quarter ton of food this weekend. Over 100 new "neighbors" were welcomed and shopped for food over the past month. Manna offered us 1100 pounds of produce, protein, and canned goods on Tuesday and delivered the items. The Turkey Meal has been a huge success and meal items will be distributed this weekend (Nov. 22). There have been at least 20+ first time volunteers over the past month.
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With respect and gratitude, we salute our Veterans this week. We thank them for their service to our country. We are appreciative, too, for the volunteers who give their time and energy to our pantry. Edward Jones donated several grocery carts of food. Ingles delivered over 200 pounds of "meal" bags filled food. George delivered food and offered to come back and volunteer. Nativity Lutheran and Fletcher Methodist dropped off several carts of food donations and helped shelve the items. Donations are welcome and appreciated.
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Alas...it was not a parade at the pantry on Saturday. It was 162 vehicles making their way to the pantry parking lot. If the 40+ volunteers had not arrived before 8:00, we would still be distributing food until the last person was served. When the 112 pounds of produce from our garden (cabbages, peppers, and collards) were added with the produce from Manna (potatoes, onions, peppers, and lettuce), smiles broke out among our "neighbors!" Even with the larger number of neighbors, we were prepared to offer milk, eggs, and meat to everyone.
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A shout out to Manna Food bank! For the past many years, we received Manna deliveries twice a month. Kristen, our contact with Manna, encouraged us to order on the off-week, too. The only "hitch" is you had to pick it up. Without hesitation, Doug offered his trailer for what we call the Mini-Manna Pickup. We usually order meat, produce, and eggs. Beginning this week, a calendar is posted for days and times for deliveries. On Big-Manna week, we usually have over 5,000 pounds delivered and volunteers arrive around 8:30. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get everything shelved. On Mini-Manna week, we receive less than 1,500 pounds. Volunteers arrive around 2:00 and work less than an hour. You don't need to sign-up...just surprise us with your presence!
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