SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI FOOD PANTRY

Our objective is to provide needy individuals and families in our area with healthy non-perishable and perishable foods at no cost to them. Since we opened last April, we have increased our refrigeration and freezer capacity so that we can now store large amounts of meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs and fresh produce. However, we just joined the TEFAP Commodities program offered by the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, which provides us with extra canned goods, dried pasta, fresh produce, shredded cheese, fruit juice, poultry, fish and meat every other month. We have two 2-door commercial freezer to store the freezable TEFAP commodities, such as meat, poultry and fish, as it may take us a week or two to distribute all of it to our clients, depending on how much we receive.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture and provides a wide variety of food, including canned and fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, juice and cheese at no cost to states, which then distribute it to food banks, which then make it available to their partner pantries and other organizations. Because we have expanded the quantity of food we can obtain and store, we have been able to keep pace with our steadily increasing number of clients. Our greatest need at this time is ongoing funding so that we can participate in the TEFAP program, as well as continue to purchase food to keep the pantry shelves well-stocked with a wide variety of foods, both everyday essentials and seasonal specialties such as turkeys at Thanksgiving, hams at Christmas and Easter, and so on.

As noted above, we currently serve approximately 1,000 families per month and our numbers are growing each month due to word of mouth about the pantry spreading in our local area and the increasing number of low-income individuals and families who are negatively impacted by the sharply increasing rental costs in our area. With assistance from KOHL'S , we can confidently absorb the increasing number of needy families who are asking for our assistance.

BRIEF ORGANIZATION HISTORY: Our President Cindy Becher has been a Reno resident for over 30 years. During this time, she has had the privilege of working with the underserved population in both food pantries and organizations assisting the homeless. She fully understands the true depth of need in our community. Offering hope to the hopeless, preserving the dignity of those in need and alleviating hunger in our community has become a true passion of hers. She has created Saint Francis of Assisi Food Pantry without assistance from any religious organizations and is not sponsored or receiving any ongoing financial support from any religious organizations. Saint Francis of Assisi Food pantry serves all who come through our doors without regard to ancestry, age, color, citizenship, disability, marital or religion. All are welcome!

After months of careful planning and fundraising, Saint Francis of Assisi Food Pantry opened its doors on Monday, April 4, 2016. We’ve now been serving the community for 15 months, making a positive impact in the lives of all who walk through our doors. From April 2016 through June 2020, we assisted a total of 2,060 households with a total of 4,853 members. Each household is eligible to come to the pantry once a month. We have seen rapid growth in our clients served from month to month as shown by these monthly increases in the number of clients we have served:
 In April, 2016, we helped 204 households with a total of 455 members, including 125 children under the age of 18.
 In April, 2017, we helped 595 households with a total of 1,377 members, including 376 children under the age of 18.
 In June, 2017, we helped 689 households with a total of 1,586 members, including 453 children under the age of 18.

We’re open each week on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 1pm- 3pm and on the third Wednesday of each month from 5pm – 7pm.
We have partnered with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, the premier hunger relief agency in Northern Nevada, to obtain fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, eggs, meat, poultry and non-perishable food items at far below market prices, with many items provided to us free of charge. We always have on hand healthy choices such as low-sodium black beans, low-sodium canned corn, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, raisins and reduced-sugar desserts. We inform clients on how to choose healthy foods, particularly if they have shared any health conditions or dietary restrictions with us, and offer them simple recipes using nutritious ingredients to encourage healthy eating habits.

Although we have partnered with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, the quantity and variety of food we can obtain from them varies each week depending on the donations they receive, therefore we must supplement their offerings with purchases at club stores and discount grocery stores to ensure that we always have adequate stock on hand of basics such as milk, eggs, meat, non-perishable canned goods and so on. We also receive occasional donations from the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission and weekly donations of bread and related bakery items from Tastykake Bakery Outlet in Reno.

We are different from many food pantries in Northern Nevada in that we offer Client Choice, which allows our clients to choose the foods they and their families like. We are open more frequently than most small food pantries including providing evening hours once a month. In addition, we offer healthy food options such as low-sodium and low-sugar products as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, we provide nutritional education for clients along with healthy and easy recipes using pantry ingredients, and most importantly, we never charge clients for services or food provided.

We provide clients with their choice of foods from the general categories listed below. The amount of items a client can select from each category is based on his or her family size:
 Non-perishable – clients select from a wide variety of canned goods including vegetables, fruits, tuna, chicken, low sodium Spam, chili beans, spaghetti sauce and so on, pasta, dried beans, rice, shelf-stable prepared meals, baking supplies, coffee, tea and so on based on their family size. We always stock healthy choices such as low sodium black beans, fat-free refried beans, low sodium corn, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, raisins and unsweetened applesauce.
 Bread, Cereal and Desserts – clients choose the breads, boxed cereals, oatmeal, snacks and dessert items they like. We always stock oatmeal and usually have reduced-sugar desserts on hand as well.
 Perishable – clients choose meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, miscellaneous dairy products (butter, yogurt, sour cream and so on), fresh vegetables and fresh fruits based on the items we have on hand.

In addition to food for families, we also offer clients the following items at no cost, which have been donated to us:
 Pet food, both wet and dry cat and dog food and kitty litter.
 Toiletries such as toilet paper, soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, disposable razors, shaving cream and so on. The toiletries are especially valued by homeless clients, but often individuals who are receiving SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) also request toiletries and cleaning products because they cannot be purchased with SNAP cards.
 Cleaning products such as dish washing soap, laundry soap, window cleaning spray, paper towels, and so on.
 Men’s, women’s and kids’ clothing, shoes, socks and backpacks that have been donated to the pantry
 Baby clothes, baby food, diapers and related infant supplies.
 Miscellaneous used kitchen and household goods, including pots and pans, electric appliances and so on.
 Used furniture, which has been donated to the pantry, which we will deliver to a client’s home or apartment if necessary

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEED: We serve low-income individuals and families who generally live within walking distance of the pantry, which is located in the high-need Reno zip code 89502. Many of our clients are older veterans and seniors who are struggling with financial limitations, as well as needy working families with small children and homeless individuals and families. Approximately 50% of our clients are minorities and a significant percent are disabled or have chronic health issues. All are thrilled when they step into the pantry and realize help is at hand!

We are happy to announce that Saint Francis of Assisi Food Pantry is a Prescription Pantry that will be connected to Renown, Northern Nevada Hopes, Community Health Alliance and Northern Nevada Food Bank to help connect food-insecure patients to obtain much needed healthy food to someone that is battling diabetes or cardiovascular disease. This program is for 2 years that will start in September 2017-2019.

As we expected when we opened our doors in April, 2016, the number of clients we serve has continued to grow monthly and unfortunately we do not expect the number of clients to decrease anytime soon. Although the expanding job opportunities in our area have revitalized our local economy, the demand for housing is rising as well due to the arrival of new residents attracted by the new job opportunities. As a result, rents have been sharply increasing, putting more financial pressure on needy families. Food prices in local supermarkets continue to increase as well, but wages for the lower-skilled jobs typically held by our clients are simply not keeping pace with the increased cost of living in our area.

We truly thank you for your consideration of this request and for all the good work that you do in our community!