CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
Immediately following our first distribution after the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, we received a voicemail with a message from a Food Pantry patron. The message said... "I just want to give a shout out to you guys. Thank you. Appreciate what you do. This corona virus has hurt a lot of people and you were brave enough to stand out there and serve us. Thank you, I appreciate it. God bless us all."
Notes like those displayed to the left are received from the children recipients of our backpack program, which distributes food and personal items to qualifying children each week by delivery via backpack. To donate to the backpack program or other programs sponsored by the Honey Brook Food Pantry, please visit our Donation page here.
Our volunteers receive in-person, heartfelt thank yous at each distribution. It's hard to put that on a website, so that you there reading this now can understand. Without being there, you cannot imagine the gratitude that our clients feel. The card imaged to the right is one received recently. We hope it helps you to see what the Food Pantry means to those we service.
Life can be uncertain, and circumstances can lead to great difficulties in our lives. Our clients sometimes share their stories with us – stories of challenges, unforeseen events, and daily struggles. Hope is often expressed that things will improve, but because of current needs, our clients are consistently grateful for the help and support they receive from the Honey Brook Food Pantry.
One client shared a bit of her story recently. She is a senior citizen who faces health challenges, including emphysema and the need for oxygen as well as a nebulizer. She relies on Social Security for her income, but it just does not cover all of her bills, and she often needs food. She notes that the HBFP helps her out a lot. She enjoys coming to the pantry because the food is always fresh, and the environment is positive. In her words, “I always wish I was well enough to help here, but I’m limited.” She says that the staff really takes an interest in people, and “that keeps me coming back.” She couldn’t ask for better service, and everyone is really helpful. Sometimes she’s not well enough to come in to the pantry during scheduled distribution dates, but she is very thankful that there is an option for home delivery for food.
Another client dropped off a Christmas card when she arrived at the distribution. In the card, she included a hand written note:
“For the Honey Brook Food Pantry. How they help my family - God put them in our lives when we did not have anything to eat. When God made the Honey Brook Food Pantry, it meant a lot to a lot of people in need. With God’s help, I hope they can keep on helping people like me. My family loves everyone here. Thank you and God bless you all.”
We would greatly appreciate any financial support that you can offer to help to defray our operating expenses. Please consider making a donation to help us continue to provide assistance to those in our area who are struggling to feed their families.
More often these days, people are unable to provide enough nutritious food for themselves and their families. As wages, work hours, and benefits are reduced, more people have to spend what little resources they have to cover increasing expenses. The cost of child care, the challenge of transportation, especially in our rural Honey Brook community, and even routine medical costs have huge impacts on people’s ability to get the food they need to live healthy, productive lives.
More than 48% of the households served by the Honey Brook food pantry are families with children.
One mother tells her story:
"I have 8 children, ages 21- 1. I work when I can at cleaning jobs on the weekends. Our house burned down on Thanksgiving Day five years ago, and my parents helped us find this place in Honey Brook. We didn’t go to a pantry prior to the opening of the Honey Brook Food Pantry. The pantry has been such a blessing in our lives. The most important thing I want people to know is that you just never know what kind of circumstances you’re going to be in. I never thought I’d be a single mom. Things can change in a moment, and it can happen to anyone. Even a business can close down – it can happen to anyone at any time. We have been so blessed by the generosity at the pantry, and we’ve been donating our coats that the boys have outgrown to the pantry so that they can share them with others. I probably could try to sell them to get some extra money, but we want to keep on blessing everyone. When you bless others, it always comes back to you. I just can’t tell you how much the pantry means to me and our family."
