One of the great things about working in the social services sector is knowing that your work helps people. An even greater thing is being around people who volunteer their time in service to others. If you can’t draw inspiration from that, well, you’re probably in the wrong line of work.

Last Wednesday, NNEMAP Food Pantry was the beneficiary of some seriously community minded second graders from Grandview’s Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School. The four second-grade classes gathered up over 500 dental-care products for distribution to NNEMAP Food Pantry families. It was like a Treasure Island of toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash and floss! Look at these fantastic foragers of outstanding oral healthcare items:

Each of the classroom teachers used the project as another kind of “teachable moment”–counting up all of the different items, working on addition to add up the total and creating graphs to show the sums in visual form. Great lesson on so many levels. Thanks to these Bobcats (or Bob…kittens?!?) for their generous spirit–and their amazing math skills!

We’re not going to lie–it was tough to top Wednesday’s foray into the heart of Grandview–but Thursday’s volunteer group made it as close to a dead heat as you can get. NNEMAP Food Pantry is closed for business on Thursdays, but we are open for deliveries. Specifically fresh produce–we get about 6,000 pounds every Thursday morning. Without some volunteer help, it can make for some long and backbreaking days for the paid staff.

It’s not easy work, and you have to be willing to get your hands dirty. Who better to come to the rescue than this crew:

Yep, that’s right, we brought in the heavy hitters. That’s a group of AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers who are currently posted with our local Habitat for Humanity branch. In just a few short hours, this gang for the good sorted, stocked and otherwise helped store four huge pallets of fresh produce.

They also helped prep for Friday’s delivery of dry goods, got our shopping carts loaded up and ready for Friday, restocked and organized our kids’ bookshelf and probably did 10 other things that were amazing. It was an incredibly productive morning with a great group of people. 

It was pretty inspiring, so we must be in the right line of work!

Our sincere thanks to the spectacular second graders from Grandview Heights and the stellar, hard-working crew from Habitat for Humanity for all of the help last week. It was truly a pleasure working with you all!

***

If you are looking for a service project for your school or a volunteer opportunity for your company, look no further! NNEMAP Food Pantry has a variety of options and would love to work with you!!! For additional information visit our VOLUNTEER page or contact Assistant Director Sean Becker via e-mail at sean@nnemappantry.org today!

NNEMAP Food Pantry kicked off its Winter Healthy Cooking Class series this morning. After an introductory lesson on USDA’s MyPlate initiative, it was time to fire up the skillet! On the menu today: black bean quesadillas and some fun new nutrition tricks and food prep tips.

Next up in the series: Boost Your Day with Breakfast! Join us on Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 10am for our next culinary adventure. Please note: You must register to attend! Sign up during your next pantry visit or by calling 614-297-0533

For additional NNEMAP events and information, please check our events page regularly. See you in the kitchen!

Cooking Matters Program Manager Michael Lantow; NNEMAP Food Pantry Board member Amiee Romans; Senator Sherrod Brown’s Central Ohio Regional Director Joe Gilligan; and Local Matters Executive Director Michelle Moskowitz Brown cooked up a storm and talked policy at the pantry.

A Cooking Matters class hosted by NNEMAP Food Pantry had a special guest last month – Joe Gilligan, Central Ohio Regional Director for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), came to learn about the program and partnership. In a press release, Senator Brown expressed support for programming that improves the health of Ohioan’s lives. NNEMAP Food Pantry thanks Local Matters for their community leadership and Senator Brown’s office for their support of nutrition related causes. Read the press release here. 

Just in time for the holidays, fun and fashionable NNEMAP Food Pantry gear is available for purchase online! The fall/winter line features a stylish fleece pullover hoodie. Perfect for those mild winter days! The best selling T-shirt line is back from the spring sale as well. T-shirts with crew and V-neck collars and long-sleeve T’s are available in royal blue and heather gray. Know a Civil War history buff? Get one in both colors!

Proceeds from the sale go to NNEMAP Food Pantry, so your great gear is also a great gift to our neighbors! 

ORDER NOW FOR HOLIDAY DELIVERY!!! CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO ORDER ONLINE TODAY!!!

GET NNEMAP GEAR HERE!

As always, thank you for your support of our mission. Enjoy your fantastic new NNEMAP-wear and have a safe and happy holiday season!

It’s Thanksgiving Eve! Please note the following changes to the NNEMAP Food Pantry schedule:

2017 HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

NNEMAP FOOD PANTRY will be CLOSED ON THE FOLLOWING DATES in November and December:

Thursday, November 23 (Thanksgiving Day)

Friday, November 24 (Day after Thanksgiving)

Saturday, November 25 (no Produce Mart today)

Friday, December 22

Saturday, December 23 (no Produce Mart today)

Monday, December 25 (Christmas Day)

Friday, December 29

Saturday, December 30 (no Produce Mart today)

Monday, January 1, 2018 (New Year’s Day)

Please make a note of these dates and plan accordingly.

To all of our neighbors, volunteers, donors, partners and community supporters, have a safe and happy holiday season from your friends at NNEMAP Food Pantry.