Mountrail Community Food Pantry March News
The Mountrail Community Food Pantry provided 15,348 pounds of food to 118 Mountrail County families in March for a total of 371 people, of which 122 were children and 60 were seniors. Cashwise donated 5,177 pounds of food that Greg and Bill and Danny loaded up, hauled, unloaded and weighed, which was then stocked in our pantry. Thank you, Cashwise. And thank you, strong men.
We also received five pounds of garden produce from the same gardener that brought us a few squash last month, who shall still remain nameless, due to her appreciation for anonymity. Hint: she is short, cute and a human dynamo. (insert mischievous smiley face here).
We received some wonderful monetary donations in March, some food and personal product donations, along with donations of homegrown eggs, which are such a hit. The taste of homegrown eggs is unmatched by those a person can purchase at the store, in my opinion anyway. They are so full of flavor! Our clients are tickled pink to receive these eggs. Having extra eggs was a bonus blessing that I had not thought of, but Lil mentioned that having more eggs for families might be fun for those that wanted to make some colored eggs for Easter! We are very thankful for so many that give to those that might need some assistance in feeding their families.
We also received more of the homemade bags that a friend of mine sewed for our clients. The idea is they can reuse these bags each month, saving on plastic bags. The bags she makes are so pretty and they even have pockets. Clients raved over the first batch of bags and are proud to show us they remembered to bring them back each time. Then it’s MY turn to remember to tell my friend that her bags are really making a difference. Some of the clients have shared how they have used their bags in their daily life, as well. Those bags are truly a labor of love. I am going to post a picture of them on our Facebook page!
As promised, I will provide our address for people that would like to donate in some way. Our physical address is the Memorial Building, 18 2nd Ave SE, Stanley. The door in the southeast corner of the building is ours, if a person would like to drop off food donations, and our mailing address remains the same; 6989 84th Ave NW, Stanley, ND 58784. If you’d like to save postage, you can slide an envelope right under our door at the pantry, and we will find it when we arrive.
Our hours of operation are 12:30 to 3:00 p.m. on Mondays (except legal holidays). If you, or someone you know, needs a little help in providing food for their family, please share our information with them and please feel welcome to visit our pantry. You won’t find a friendlier greeting anywhere than when you walk through our doors. Lil and Nancy are the best at what they do! Not only do they welcome people like they are family when they arrive, but they check them in, make certain their information is what we require, provide instructions if needed, give out a voucher if we have them to give out, weigh their food, record the weight of the food for our reporting needs, and then merrily wish everyone a good rest of the day as they walk back out the door with their food! I think it’s safe to say that people leave our pantry with a smile, feeling better about their day, in large part because of the family atmosphere that our volunteers create every Monday. Speaking of our day’s work, we would very much appreciate it if folks would be here no later than 2:30 p.m. so we can go home by 3:00 p.m. (We have been hustling to prepare for our clients since 9:30 a.m. or so that morning, so we are plenty tired by 3:00!) We were closed Monday, April 6th for Easter Monday. We will be open the rest of the Mondays in April. Just a heads up for May though, we will be closed on Memorial Day. Please plan ahead.
If you’d like to follow us, we are on Facebook at Mountrail Community Food Pantry. You will see any announcements we may have, especially as winter weather is here, as well as fun pictures.
As I write this, Easter is only a few days away. I love Easter. There is so much hope for the future, so much to be grateful for, knowing that we are loved completely, just as we are. It’s a new beginning, a fresh new start. Nature shows us this, as the trees begin to bud, a few brave blades of green grass are starting to grow, and I see little fuzzy crocus buds popping up from the prairie. Soon, the browns of winter will be replaced with a myriad of joyful colors.
Meadowlarks are already singing in celebration… if Spring had its own national anthem, it would be the song of the meadowlark. Calves will be romping around like crazy, kicking up their heels and sliding to a stop before completely changing direction and tearing off full steam ahead like they’ve lost their marbles, tails sticking straight up in the air. Farmers will be working in the fields, planting their crops once again, with the hopes and the trust that their hard work will produce good food for so many families.
It’s a beautiful thing to ponder as it all unfolds. And it’s even more profound to watch, knowing that there is a plan behind every single blade of grass that grows, within each butterfly’s travels, and in every drop of rain that gently falls, a plan for each and every one of us, knowing that we are so very incredibly loved. Easter reminds us of all of that… and so much more.
Here’s to celebrating every bit of it!
Mary