Food Pantry Informative Essay

Have you ever worried about where your next meal was going to come from? According to the Homeless Coalition of Lincoln, “981 people in 755 households are homeless in our city” (Homelessness In Lincoln, 2012). The Gathering Place of Lincoln is a food pantry where anyone with special concern for the poor, elderly, lonely, homeless, hungry and differently abled feels welcome. It is a place where people from all walks of life can come together to share a hot meal and fellowship with one another. “Each year the Gathering Place serves over 29,000 hot meals to those in need” (Homelessness In Lincoln, 2012). The Gathering Place operates to help those who cannot help themselves through the harsh economic times. Although operating a food pantry has its issues, the benefits that come from its operation outweigh those issues.
Unfortunately, the economy is not as strong as it used to be. Each day many people face poverty and hunger. “One in every six children in the United States go hungry each month and 35 million people cannot ensure minimum daily caloric requirements” (Holt-Giménez, 2008). The Gathering Place offers a place where hungry children and adults can come to share a hot meal. Food pantries are affected by rising costs and economic downturns in the same ways as other non-profit organizations. The Gathering Place depends on volunteer labor to operate but requires money to pay utilities, maintenance as well as buy the food that is not provided by food banks and other contributors. It is sometimes necessary to use the monetary donations to purchase food to ensure that all that come are able to have a meal. There are times when there is not enough money in the bank accounts to pay the utilities. Without the funds to pay for all of the expenses that come from running the food pantry, the likelihood of our organization closing is much greater. These economic issues provide us challenges and we fight them as best as we can.
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