Happy Holidays!

As 2006 comes to a close the Keyport Ministerium Food Pantry volunteers and the clients we serve want to say “Thank You” to all our loyal supporters for the assistance you gave us in 2006.  Because you believe in us and know that we strive to do everything we can to help our clients to the best of our ability, not only through food staples but with other services whenever possible, we truly hope that you will continue to support us in the coming year. 

Running an organization is not an easy task as you can imagine but we are fortunate enough to have a team of dedicated volunteers like no other (Who We Are).  These men and women are the core of our organization and without them we would not exist.  I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to each one of them for everything they have done throughout the years and continue to do to keep our organization running.  Our founder O.O. John Reed who passed away this year was also very proud of having such a great team and I know that he would have said the same thing – it takes a team to make things happen.  My best wishes to all the volunteers.

Here is the latest status:

1. Like the saying goes – “A picture is worth a thousand words”.  The reason for quoting this is that we have numerous supporters who are always helping us through food or financial donations and have never visited our facility.  As most of you know we are working endlessly to raise money for a new facility and will not rest until we accomplish this goal.  If you are one of our supporters, would like to learn more about our organization, or have never visited our facility come and see our operation first hand. You will be totally amazed and will leave wondering - how do they do it?  Looking forward to your visit - so come on down.
2. As we mentioned in last month’s message we partnered with the Foodbank of Monmouth/Ocean County to work on an Outreach Program for Food Stamps.  We want to encourage more people to apply; therefore if you or someone you know wants to learn more about the process feel free to contact us.  Remember – you do not have to be a pantry client.
3. The Clever Hen in Keyport held their Annual Holiday Open House on November 11th.  They advertised that customers who brought in a non-perishable food item would receive 10% off store merchandise (some exclusions applied).  The items were donated to us and we would like to say Thank You to the proprietors for their efforts and support of our organization.
4. We would like to say Thank You to the Keyport Police Department for their food donations.  We are truly grateful for the department’s support and would also like to thank them for the great job they do in keeping our community safe.
5. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving we distributed turkeys with holiday bags (trimmings for Thanksgiving dinner) that were received from the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties via the NJ State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) and additional individual donations.  We are very grateful for all the donations we received since it helped us provide additional dinners for our needy families.  
6. Thank you to the First Baptist Church of Matawan for their generous food donations.
7. We have been approved for the 50/50 Raffle license and plan to start this initiative in the early part of 2007.  More details will be provided in the upcoming months.
8. We continue to receive donations towards our “New Building” and we are truly grateful.  Please remember no donation is too small so if you or someone you know is able to help us we truly appreciate it.

Isaiah G. Cooper
Executive Director
Keyport Ministerium Food Pantry, Inc.