Posted on April 7, 2012 by Gene
(Please take the time to read a special posting from Gene Lewis following this section.)
At the close of business on Saturday, March 10th, the following items were in especially short supply:
- Condiments | Mustard – Ketchup – Mayo
- Spam
- Vienna Sausage
- Jelly
- Grits (packets)
- Powdered Milk
- Snacks
- Coffee
- Tea
- Crackers
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Noodles
- Sweet Cereal
For a longer list of items of which we almost never have enough, click here.
Because of the increasing number of homeless guests, we especially need food items of any kind with pop top cans.
Other non-food Needs:
- Plastic Bags for food —– Sandwich Size or Quart Size Ziploc or similar brands
- Pens……. they seem to disappear over time
Donations may be delivered directly to Druid Hills United Methodist Church, 1200 Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. Donations may be dropped off at the church office Monday through Friday from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Rich Fuss was Saturday’s Distribution Leader. Many thanks to all who found time during the busy Easter weekend to help make sure that the Pantry would be open to help our neighbors in need.
We thank all of you for your support throughout the year. Without you, our food pantry could not operate. We encourage congregations to find a way to communicate to members how their efforts make a real difference in the lives of those who come to the food bank weekly. Please encourage your congregation’s members to come and visit the pantry. We are also happy to visit with any group in your congregation to communicate about the work of the pantry.
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Posted on March 31, 2012 by fkhodgson
Volunteer Coordinator Needed (back-up position)
I am so grateful for the work of Beth Shaw who functions as Lead Volunteer Coordinator for the Pantry. Beth sends out the emails before pantry on each Saturday advising our people needs. She also communicates with people who contact us wishing to volunteer at the pantry. She’ll also add you to the volunteer list if you ask her. Kat Kirkpatrick was her partner for this pantry function. They are both mothers of small children and this was a function that they could offer for the pantry that could be conducted from home using the phone and computers. Kat and her family have transferred out-of-state. If there is anyone out there who who wishes to be backup to Beth, please email and let me know. The function requires less that four hours per month. Beth is the lead coordinator. You would send the weekly pantry volunteers email and respond to incoming requests during any week when Beth was not available (like this coming week when she will be on Spring Break).
Home Delivery Support Needed
On a weekly basis we delivery groceries to around 20 households in 30306 and 30307. All of the people served are disabled or over age 70. Richard Newman of DHUMC is the Lead. Annie Voigt of Mercy is the Lead Interviewer. It goes something like this. Jane Boyd Lee and Anne Townsley of DHPC meet with these guests on a quarterly basis and determine that their situation qualifies for Home Delivery. Anne Voigt of Mercy contacts these guests each week and interviews them to determine their food need that week. Richard Newman coordinates the distribution each week with lots of assistance from Chris Purser of DHBC. Here’s our need and predicament. Our needs in this area have grown. Last year we were servings 8-10 people a week. We have grown to now serving nearly 20 most weeks. Because we pack this grocery on Saturday morning, we are delaying the start of pantry until home delivery packing is complete.
I propose we re-organize Home Delivery as follows | If you can help let me know
- Home Delivery Grocery Packing Team: we need 2-4 people who would volunteer at the pantry from 9:30am to 10:30am on Saturdays to pack the home delivery orders.
- Home Delivery Delivery Team: we need 2-4 people who would deliver the grocery. Most of our guests are at Briarcliff Summit Apts or William Booth Towers. Presently Richard and Chris are primary delivery people but the could use some support
- Home Delivery Interview Team: Annie Voigt phones all of our guests each week to determine their food needs. She needs a back-up person for those weeks when she is out-of-town (like this coming week when she is away at the beach for spring break)
Thanks for all that you do to help make Intown Food Pantry a place that serves our neighbors as we would serve ourselves. Please contact me or any of the other Pantry Leaders if you have any questions. We want your help and input.
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Posted on March 1, 2010 by fkhodgson
Greetings Food Pantry Volunteer
We are happy that you have found your way to this site. In the coming days and weeks, we will fine tune this site to make it an effective means of communications for the food pantry.
Your constant feedback is invited and will make our job a lot easier. Please explore the entire site and give us your feedback: Let us know via your comments
- what you feel is working
- what needs improvement
- what needs to be added
- what needs to be scrapped
This is a work in progress with many areas under construction. Put on your hard hat, wander around, and let us know what you think.
If you are ready to volunteer, please don’t wait. We need you on-board now. Look at the job descriptions on the “Volunteer Here” page. Then click on the link on the page which will take you to a form where you can sign up and indicate the role you wish to play. If you’re not sure, there’s a place to indicate that, as well. Just tell us, and someone will contact you to help you figure out the best fit.
Thanks for stopping by. We look forward to serving the food pantry with you in the days to come.
–Your Communications Team
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Insects that infest our stored foods
Now that the cold weather has arrived we can turn our attention indoors and think about getting rid of those pesky "weevils" and moths that are occasionally found in the kitchen and pantry.Did you know that insects consume 10-50% of all stored grain worldwide? Most of the loss occurs in commercial storage but a significant amount also happens after consumers take food home and store it improperly. So perhaps we needn't worry so much about producing more food on the farm but should concern ourselves instead with protecting the food we already have in storage!
Here's some basic information about the most common pantry or stored product pests and what you can do about them at home.
Keep in mind the following points: (1) Dry pet food is the most commonly overlooked source of infestations. (2) Do not store items longer than about 2 months unless steps are taken to protect it against infestation (see below). (3) Do not store items in the thin plastic "supermarket" bags because insects can chew through this plastic; use heavy plastic, glass or metal containers instead. (4) Freeze products like birdseed, dry pet food, and flour, before placing them in long-term storage -- freezing can effectively eliminate many insect pests (see below). (5) Discard infested foods when it is found. Trying to salvage food that has become infested with insects is usually not practical and may only provide an ongoing source of infestation.
Weevils - The term "weevil" is often used to describe a wide variety of beetles and true weevils that infest seeds, whole grains, and flour. Some stored-product beetles require whole, unbroken kernels (see photo above) whereas others infest grain meal and flour.
Meal moths - Adult moths are about 5/8" across the wings. Their wings often have a broad, dark band across the back (Indian meal moths). Larvae, "worms", infest a wide variety of foodstuff including grains, dried fruits, seeds, crackers, nuts, powdered milk, dry pet food, and cereals. Webbing produced by larvae is commonly found covering infestations. You may also find moths in the kitchen or other rooms. Meal moth infestations are common in shelled or unshelled nuts, especially walnuts. Spilled pet food is another likely source of infestation.
Flour beetles - A pest of flour, this beetle cannot attack unbroken kernels. Also found in peas, beans, shelled nuts, dried fruits, spices, etc. One generation is completed in 2 to 3 months. You must find all infested foodstuff and dispose of it in order to control this insect.
Dermestid or carpet beetles - There are a number of small beetles that feed on animal hair, hide, and stored food. Dermestid or carpet beetles are notorious scavengers feeding on all manner of dead animal protein. Some of these beetles infest stored food as well. Their presence is often detected when the cast skins of their "fuzzy" larvae are found in kitchen draws or on shelves (see carpet beetle link below for photos).
A word of caution about using insecticides around food
Controlling stored product pests with insecticides is very difficult and usually not recommended because of the proximity of food to the applied poisons. Most of the time stored product pests can be adequately managed with proper sanitation, traps and attention to how packages are sealed and stored. Most importantly, don't store foods longer than about 2 months unless you freeze them first.
If, however, insecticides are used indoors use only the new botanical insecticides, specifically those that are exempt from EPA registration (see the link above for products that are available to homeowners). These insecticides are very effective when used according to their label instructions, much safer for you and the environment, but are somewhat more expensive than conventional pesticides.
How to protect foods with cold treatment
Freezing kills all stages of stored-product pests like moths, beetles and weevils. After cold treatment foods can be removed from the freezer and stored at room temperature in a sealed container. Even packaged foods like flour, dry pet food, dried fruit and so forth can harbor live insects. If these products are placed in storage at room temperature insects will start to multiply resulting in an infestation. On average it takes about 2 months for these infestations to develop. This is why we suggest that you treat food products with cold if you plan to store them longer than about 2 months.
The rules for cold treatment are to keep the package small enough and the time-in-freezer long enough to ensure that the product completely freezes. For example, a five pound bag of flour might take 3-4 days at normal freezer temperature whereas a 1 pound box of raisins might take only 2 days. Freezer times will largely be a guess at first as there are no hard and fast rules. Just remember to keep the package small and time in freezer as long as possible.
Use the links below for specific information about identification, trapping, and control of these stored product pests.
