Give a Gift

This is a happy time of year for many food pantries. End of the year solicitation letters bring in monetary donations and, in the “holiday spirit,” dozens of food drives flow in. Life is good at WAFER in November and December. Our biggest problems are where to store all the wonderful food gifts and how to find the time to record and deposit the checks! I wish these were our problems year round.


This year, I’ve heard from an increasing number of people and businesses who are choosing to give to charity rather than exchanging gifts or receiving another bottle of hand lotion. The question is, though, how to encourage this type of giving not only during this time of year, but year round as well.

Over the next few months, I will be preparing information for our website and for a brochure/handout encouraging donors, and prospective donors, to think along these lines. The information will not be geared toward bequests, another topic entirely, but towards general food and monetary donations.

Some donors approach giving like this on a regular basis. Several times over the last few years, children, even as young as five years old, have asked for food pantry donations in lieu of birthday presents. Some Baby Boomers, as they reach retirement, are more interested in donations than accumulating more “stuff.” However, WAFER Food Pantry can always use more “stuff.”

Food Pantries, and all charitable organizations, should work to encourage awareness of this kind of giving. Please pass the word.