Thanksgiving and the other end of year holidays bring many folks around a dinner table to enjoy a good meal with the family and friends. While the awareness of hunger is heightened during this time of year, the reality is such that hunger is a year round problem.
The Franklin Food Pantry looks for ways to enable a sustaining volume of donations so that those they serve can be provided for throughout the year.
For #givingTuesday, there are several ways you can help the Food Pantry.
You can help in the following ‘traditional’ ways
- Donate food or non-food items. Why non-food items? For those on WIC or SNAP benefits, purchases of personal health care products are restricted. A person needs those just as much as healthy food to live a good life. Review the listing of non-food items for the Healthy Futures shelf.
- Donate money through the Food Pantry website with a one time payment, or set up a recurring payment. The website allows for payments from bank accounts or credit cards.
For the holiday season you might consider
- Getting your vehicle serviced by Nice Car Care at the corner of Grove and Beaver St. For the entire month of December they are donating 5% of their profits from all car services to the Franklin Food Pantry. A complete list of services can be found at www.nicecarecare.com
- The Franklin Food Elves will be collecting for the Food Pantry in their annual "12 Days of Giving" campaign. "More than 60 Food Elves will be collecting goods in neighborhoods around Franklin. If you don't have an Elf in your neighborhood, you can still participate in the food drive! Look for the red collection bins at participating Franklin Downtown Partnership member businesses. For additional information, check here.
- Buying a ticket or two, or more for “A Christmas Carol, Times Two!” A dramatic reading of the classic story Charles Dickens with musical accompaniment. Thursday, Dec 12th at the Franklin United Methodist Church. Tickets $10 per person. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased in advance through BrownPaperTickets.com/, either on-line or by calling their 24/7 toll-free number 1-800-838-3006 For additional details on this performance check here.
You can also help by
- Purchasing a “Franklin Pride” bead or necklace or bracelet. These items are carefully crafted in the Franklin blue and buff colors and make great gifts throughout the year. Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day to mention just a few. A percent of the purchase price comes to the Food Pantry thanks to the collaboration with Beads for a Cause
- Consider “Sponsoring a Shelf”. Contact Erin Lynch, Development Director to discuss how this would work for your budget. She can provide examples of items (peanut butter or toilet paper for example) that the Food Pantry uses on a regular basis. Your donation could provide the funds to keep a shelf stocked with that item for a set period of time. Your name (business or family) would be placed on the shelf to help provide recognition for your contribution.
- Last but not least, you can find the Franklin Food Pantry on Facebook. “Like” the page and enable notifications to your timeline as the Food Pantry makes updates so you will always be “in the know”. Share items you find are worthy with your friends and neighbors so the Food Pantry can reach all of the Franklin user on Facebook!
- If you have a Twitter account, you can also find and follow the Food Pantry
- If you use LinkedIn, you can find updates from the Food Pantry
When you sit for your next meal, please give thanks for what you have. Please consider giving when you can to help the Food Pantry provide for others in Franklin throughout the year.
