09/28/2025
Happy Sunday, everyone! In the past week, two people contacted me because they had placed a sizable donation directly into the Lil' Pantry, only to find it gone when they drove by shortly thereafter. They were worried it had been cleaned out. And, rightfully, so! But, NO. When that happens, WE immediately remove everything, bring it into the house to make sure it's all good (no expired, damaged, or hazardous items), and then we feed the items out to the pantry gradually to spread the love around.
However, I want everyone to know that, in my experience of running this pantry for 3+ years, total cleanouts do not happen. We have 30 - 50 unique visitors to the pantry every 24 hours (and they are different each day), and they ONLY take what they NEED.
On a related note, I've had people tell me, "Yah, our church tried to do a free food pantry once, but every time we put out food, it was taken immediately." I always ask, "By the same person?" And they say, "We have no way of knowing, but it was always empty, so we just stopped doing it. People are selfish." Well, I DO have a way of knowing. All activity is 100% monitored and recorded. If you have an empty food pantry, it's because you have NEED. You stop running a food pantry because the food doesn't stick around? That makes NO sense whatsoever!
OK, my Sunday morning sermon is over. If you have a small, safe, unexpired donation, put it directly into the pantry. But if you have a large donation, please put it on the porch. I'm going to pull it inside anyway. AND THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for those large donations! You feed MANY different people with those donations, not just one selfish person. Trust me! ;-)
