The Fuquay Varina Emergency Food Pantry is a faith-based organization whose mission is to help as many area families as possible to ensure that they are not handicapped by hunger.

Our supplies from the government have been reduced. We are not scheduled to receive any PEANUT BUTTER — one of our major sources of extra protein. We are also in need of canned meat or fish, like chicken and tuna. Beans, green vegetables, corn and soup are also in need, however peanut butter is our biggest concern at present.

Another donation to keep in mind: Due to some generous monetary donations, we were able to purchase hamburger meat to add to our boxes. Therefore, a helpful donation would be something that can be added to hamburger, like hamburger helper meals or chili powder, etc.

There were plenty of smiles and good wishes being exchanged this past November and December. Our pantry was able to provide about 700 families with turkeys, stuffing mix, yams and vegetables for their Thanksgiving meals, and then added baking goods and other treats to their regular pickup in December. Thank you to the community and to all of the many volunteers who made this possible.

Many thanks again to Davis Drive Elementary School for a very successful and well-organized food drive. It took three ‘very loaded’ vehicles to transport all of the donated food. Our community is very greatful and will be able to put more food on their table thanks to these generous gifts.

There were many other organizations in town who really came through these past few months, such as Club Worx, Curves, Jazzersize, Bible study groups, and of course, the Fuquay-Varina Fire Department.

Besides donations of food, please keep in mind that we are spending more funds than usual to make up for the decrease in government supplies. Therefore, monetary donations are always greatly appreciated and put to good use to buy those things we need. All donations go toward food and staples for our clients, or for maintenance of the food pantry facilities. None of our board or our volunteers receive a salary.