For Guests

For Clients/Guests

INFORMATION FOR OUR GUESTS:

There are several important things to know about our Pantry.

• We are a “Guest Choice” Pantry that relies on an “honor” system to determine “need”. By attending the pantry you are self declaring that you are in need of food.

• In an effort to fairly distribute the food we have available, we distribute different quantities of various items based on household size. Your honesty in declaring household members helps us distribute our limited resources fairly.

• We provide a sheltered area for you to sign in and a comfortable place for you to sit while waiting to go through the Pantry. All guests are offered a hot meal provided by the Rev Alden Burhoe Meal Ministry while waiting to receive groceries. Guests do not need to register for groceries in order to partake of the meal.

• Guests are called randomly and allowed to proceed through the Pantry after signing in. Prior to proceeding for groceries, guests may (if requested) pick items from our clothing boutique. Quantity is determined by family size. 

• A Volunteer at the pantry building will accompany and assist each guest with his or her grocery selection.

• Currently, USDA qualified guests have more of a choice in what they pick, not more food. USDA requires us to have guests declare their eligibility with signup sheets at each distribution. This is also a self-declare procedure.

• Regular distributions are normally three times a month. We are open on one Friday evening (usually the second Friday of the month from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm), and on two Saturday mornings (usually the last 2 Saturdays of the month from 9:00 am to 10:30 am). Depending on other activities at the church this general schedule may change. Please check the Calendar tab for a complete schedule. With our current resources we are able to provide service to our guests once a month.

Our Process:

Our current registration process consists of registering, signing-in, then picking up clothes and or groceries. Specific details for entire process are provided below.

• Guests arrive at the church and proceed to the Church's under-croft (basement). 

• If a guest is attending for the first time, they fill out a "Client Registration Form". The form asks for household address and the first name and date of birth for all household members. The clients signature serves as the self-declaration that all information on the form is correct.

• While waiting to be called, our guests can take advantage of a hot meal provided by our partners of the Rev. Alden Burhoe Meal Ministry.

• All guests are issued a numbered "registration" ticket. All tickets are plac'ed in a drum, and they are drawn out randomly. When a guest's ticket is drawn, they proceed to the registration table to register at the pantry's laptop computer, sign the USDA declaration form,  and receive all the materials necessary to receive clothing and or groceries.

• Our guests should now have two or three cards. 

  • The first will be a numbered card that will allow entry to the pantry building.

  • The second will be a colored card that will tell the pantry personnel the size of the household and consequently the amount of groceries that will be obtained.

  • The third will be a card that tells the clothing personnel that the quest will be looking through the donated clothing racks and indicates the family size. Not all guests will have requested to look through our clothing so not all guests will have one of these cards.

• At this point our guests proceed to the clothing racks (if they have taken a clothing card). There they are allowed to pick the number of items indicated by household size. The racks are located in the under-croft and are on the way towards the pantry building.

• After picking clothing, the guest crosses the parking lot and enters the pantry building through the side ramp. The procedure at the pantry is as follows:

  • At the pantry building each guest is met by a volunteer who collects all the cards and escorts the guest through the pantry using a pantry pull cart. 

  • The pantry is set up in sections where similar items are located on shelves. For example: the first room has "vegetable", "tomato", "soup", and "fruit & juice" sections: the second room has our "frozen and refrigerated" items (meat, dairy, etc.), and protein sections; the third room has our "drinks", "meals", pasta,", "miscellaneous", "cereal", "snacks", and "bread" sections.

  • Our guest with volunteer stops at each section and picks the groceries they would use. Quantities are in accordance with the family size card received during registration.

  • When the guest completes "shopping", a volunteer escorts them to their car and helps load the groceries as necessary. Our volunteer then brings the pantry pull cart back to the pantry.