Church Finds Higher Purpose in Peanut Butter
While a recent donation of 4,000 jars of peanut butter and jelly will help The Pantry of Broward immensely, with an average of 20,000 pounds of food dished out per month, having enough food in stock is always a daunting task.
The Pantry of Broward is a nonprofit organization in Fort Lauderdale that serves seniors on low or fixed incomes and grandparents raising grandchildren. The group heavily depends on donations from the public to help serve their clients.
“Obviously, we can’t run without donations and the food donation is amazing and it helps our clients to no end,” said David Esposito, who works in the development department of the Pantry of Broward. “We strongly rely on the public’s donations and are supported by their generosity.”
To help stock the Pantry’s cupboard, the Potential Church in Cooper City recently began a food drive to raise 1,200 jars of peanut butter and 1,200 jars of jelly. Two days later, members of the church surpassed their goal with more than 4,000 jars of peanut butter and jelly.
“It was tough to put into words when they showed up in a box truck filled to the maximum,” Esposito said. “The back wheels of the box truck were deflated because there were so much peanut butter and jelly in the back. It will feed hundreds and hundreds of families.”
In addition to peanut butter and jelly, Esposito said other important food items the pantry requests include canned goods, soup, bread and any other non-perishable items. He added that any business and indidual can host food drives and if donations are not possible, volunteering is also always welcome.
Since opening its doors three years ago, gathering donations from the public has gotten more difficult as the economy has struggled. And with the summer season being a typically more difficult time to gather donations, the huge donation from the church couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We’re a small organization that depends on the public,” Esposito said.
For information The Pantry of Broward, visit Thepantryofbroward.org.
(Source: Charisma News Online)
