FOOD COMAS FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE

Instead of ranting about Black Friday, I will say two things: shop locally to support Greenpoint businesses and feed hungry people. Think about the overabundance of food and the food coma you experienced yesterday. The Greenpoint Soup Kitchen works very hard to put our hungry neighbors into food comas each week, and did an amazing job Wednesday evening creating a huge Thanksgiving meal for them. The Soup Kitchen does runs on the dedication volunteers and generosity of donations. Here is a letter I received from Ann Kansfield, my pastor, over at the Greenpoint Church.

DONATE TO THE SOUP KITCHEN

Dear Friends,

I’m desperate, which is why I’m sending this email to everyone I know.

Four years ago, we started a soup kitchen and food pantry. We never envisioned what would happen, but every month more and more people keep coming to us for food. Last week our City Councilman invited me to testify before the Council about the increasingly dire situation faced by hungry people in our community. In preparing to testify, I made a chart showing the number of people we’ve served in the past several years. It just goes up and up and up. As you might guess, the funds needed to help feed so many hungry people haven’t kept pace with the demand. In fact, the main funding for pantries like ours comes from the federal government, and it was slashed by almost 75% this year.  Check out the charts and testimony.

Some weeks it’s been so bad that we’ve had to turn hundreds of people away because we just haven’t had the food. I also need to raise funds to cover our operational expenses. We keep these expenses low, but we still have to pay for the lights, gas, heat and phone as well as my part-time salary.

I need your help, and I’m asking you to do two things. Please make a Thanksgiving donation to Greenpoint’s pantry and kitchen. No gift is too small – we can do a lot with $10 and a lot more with $100.  We’re able to buy food at a reduced cost from the NY Food Bank, so we leverage every dollar donated to us. Second, please help spread the word and forward this message to five friends asking them to donate a few bucks.  If everyone gives a little, we can do so much.

We’re aren’t a large non-profit.  We don’t have a fancy building or shiny equipment. You can be assured that your donation goes directly to help people who would otherwise fall through the cracks of our society.  Along with helping people, you also have the benefit of your donation being tax-deductable.

You can make a one-time donation via PayPal here or you can sign up to give monthly via our website. If you’re not into online giving, you can send a check to: Greenpoint Church Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry 136 Milton St.  Brooklyn, NY 11222

Thank you so much for your help!  Feel free to email me or call if you have any thoughts or questions.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Ann Kansfield