Hatboro Community Cupboard

January was a difficult month for the pantry as well as the clients. The weather wreaked havoc on the schedule and operating hours. Due to the extreme cold and significant snow and ice from two back to back storms we were not able to get deliveries as scheduled. We missed two weeks of milk deliveries and multiple bread and dessert donations. We only shut down for one day to allow for snow removal and de-icing of the parking lot. We are following the Hatboro Horsham school district schedule for closings. On the days we were open we gave out the staples that we carry on the shelves but could not provide milk, eggs, bread and many other items due to missed deliveries.

That being said, we registered 13 new families in January serving 341 families. We saw a drop in client visits on Tuesdays in particular due to the extreme cold. Many of our seniors, both clients and volunteers, advised us that they would not come due to their concerns over driving and walking in the cold and icy conditions. The count would have been much higher if we did not have to deal with Mother Nature.

The new refrigerator arrived replacing an old inefficient refrigerator. We also purchased two new shelving units with funds provided by one of our generous donors. We finally completed sorting and storing the December and January donations and installed the new shelving units. We are now in the process of reorganizing the shopping area of the pantry.

We were contacted by one of our neighbors asking if we would want venison to supplement our meat selections. They delivered the meat and it was quickly depleted. Several of our clients really like venison. We will keep that in mind when the next hunting season arrives.

Our need for a substitute team leader is becoming more urgent. Although we have reached out to several of our volunteers we have not been successful in our efforts.

As always, we are grateful for our dedicated volunteers and all of the organizations that support us in providing food and personal care items for those in need.