What this means is that if a family or an individual comes to our Christian Service office needing food we fill a bag of food (1-2 days) for them and then refer them to their local pantry such as C.A.R.E.S., Farmington Hospitality House, Commerce, Novi Emergency Food Program which is hosted at Faith Community Presbyterian, or the closest to their home that can help them long term.
We do not stock perishable items, large items or what you may consider “Family Sized.” There just is not enough space here to stock these items.
What we mostly keep on hand are ready to eat non-perishable items such as canned soup especially the Chunky type, canned stew, meats, tuna, meal sides like instant potatoes or pasta sides, canned vegetables, canned fruit, some boxes of cereal, boxed meals like
Mac and Cheese that one would just add water to make a meal.
It is necessary to check dates on everything that is donated. We cannot give away items out of date, nor can we donate to another pantry items out of date. We are unable to give away opened items as well.
We also stock a few 4-packs of toilet paper, tissue, dish soap, and some personal care items.
The majority of food brought to us weekly gets transferred to St. James. There has been a Christian Service partnership between Holy Family & St. James for many years, as they host the Food Pantry and we host the Clothes Closet.