OLS Food Pantry
Dear Volunteers and Donors,
Thank you for your interest in the OLS Food Pantry!
Below you'll find our updated calendar through year-end with many opportunities to volunteer with us. (Note the Pantry will be closed on Nov 24 and Dec 22, as our holiday distributions will occur the prior Saturdays.) About Thanksgiving...we are not collecting turkeys but instead $15 Shop Rite gift cards due to our lack of freezer space and the difficulty for patrons and volunteers alike in carrying these heavy items. We are collecting all the sides including cranberries, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, veg, and yams--and cookies--and of course shelf-stable Milk, our #1 requested item year-round.
If you have questions, would like to help out but don't see a time that works for you, or your organization would like to run a food collection for us, please contact Kate at [email protected]
If you can't do a shift you've signed up for...please try to find a friend to fill your shift. If you can't get a replacement, delete yourself from the Sign Up Genius so you open the shift for another volunteer to take your place. It can be difficult for us to find replacements last minute. NOTE that some activities, such as the fresh food pickups on Wednesday and Friday have NO BACKUPS. So if you miss the pickup and haven't notified us in advance, our patrons will go without.
As a reminder, we've listed below the regular food items we need weekly. Alternatively, if you'd like to make a monetary donation, which gives us maximum flexibility, checks can be made payable to the OLS Food Pantry can be dropped off or mailed to: OLS Food Pantry, c/o Our Lady of Sorrows Parish Office, 217 Prospect St, South Orange, NJ 07079.
- Shelf-Stable Milk (boxed, canned, or powdered)
- Rice (1 lb. bags: white, brown, or yellow)
- Low/No-Sugar Cereal & Oatmeal
- Pasta (whole wheat or regular)
- Pasta Sauce (no glass please)
- Tuna
- Low-Sugar Canned Fruit (in juice)
- Low-Sodium Canned Vegetables
- Peanut Butter (creamy preferred)
- Dried Beans
Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off by the little brown desk in front of the pantry door. Drop off hours: Mon-Fri 7am-4pm; Sat 8am-5pm; Sun 8am-1pm. No glass containers or open/expired food, please!
You may have heard that we recently started a Book Pantry. It is very popular with the parents, grandparents, and caregivers we serve. If you have children's books from board books through middle school level (or dictionaries of any type) in good condition that you would like to donate, please let me know and we'll put you in touch with our Book Pantry Librarians.
As always, thanks so much!
Kate + Nancy
