HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Nov. Pantry Day exceeded all expectations. The number alone equaled the sum of all the previous 3 days. We were able to distribute food to 67 households representing 234 people. At the end of the Pantry Day we had 67 turkeys donated, they were still coming in that morning and 67 families came to get food. Can you believe the number of turkey and families were the same, right on the nose. It was the work of the Lord He never wasts. In addition, we provided an additional Thanksgiving Dinner Bags of food items plus a turkey. The pantry was filled with the Spirit and full of activity for the entire time up to 1:45pm. This is a milestone for us, the "good news" of the Pantry is finding its way to those in need. The schools in all 3 towns came up "big time" with large food drive contributions and they were needed to meet the unexpected demand. So the pantry is empty and we will start refilling the shelves again.
Everyone did a wonderful job! WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE

DECEMBER CHRISTMAS PANTRY DAY
The plan is to provide the same additional food items as we did for Thanksgiving. This will provided all the items for a turkey dinner plus a turkey. This was decided because turkeys continue to be donated and we have lots of additional items from the Thanksgiving donations.

FOOD PANTRY CHRISTMAS SHOP

As you know we are planning a free Christmas shop available for the families on the Pantry Day of Dec. 19th. We have been able to develop a Wish List, some ideas are by the families in need ( over 200 gifts).
It continues to be a Joy and a Wonderful BLESSING to be involved with everyone. Again, a big THANK YOU one and all for your support.
Anyone wishing to donate please contact Julie Scheffler @ Rschef1168@msn.com
Thanks again.

FOOD PANTRY/ CHRISTMS GIFT SHOP

The food pantry is　planning to have a free Christmas Gift Shop available for the families, and especially the children, of the December Food Day, Day (Dec. 19) recipients. We are asking all to donate new, unused, unwrapped gifts for all ages (men, women, boys, girls, & babies).
Some suggestions are:

New unwrapped toys
Hats, gloves, or scarves
Blankets
beauty products　

Gift Cards for:
Food Stores, Game Stop, Wal-Mart,
Target. Book Stores, Restaurants, ect.
(Any gift idea you have, or prefer)

Again THANK YOU for your support

October Pantry/2nd Annual Rock Concert

The October Pantry Day experienced terrible weather and a reduced number of recipients served of 29 total households representing 81 individuals received food from the pantry. Some good news is that we continue to see new names/families that are coming. Expense were extremely low for the month which means that all the ministry partners and other community organizations are donating an abundant quantity of food. We are appreciative of the generosity and support of everyone.
We are still collecting Thanksgiving food items we hope to provide to all of the families that come on our November Pantry Day ( Sat.,Nov. 21 )

We also will be having our 2nd annual "Rock Concert"


EPWORTH "ROCK CONCERT"
(All proceeds go to The Bread of Life Food Pantry)

Saturday November 14th 6:00 to 10:30pm
At Epworth UMC
5th & Morgan, Palmyra, NJ

Featuring a few local bands
PLUS the ever-popular "FRIENDS" Classic Rock Band


NOT JUST FOR THE YOUNG

$5 DONATION
FOOD WILL BE SOLD

Again, a big THANK YOU one ans all for your support.

Donations for The Bread of Life Food Pantry

In August my daughter Rachel and I opened a much needed Food Pantry at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Palmyra,NJ for the communities of Palmyra, Riverton, and Cinnaminson. While the pantry is located at Epworth, it is supported by many of the Tri-Boro Ministerium churches. The pantry is open one day a month on the 3rd Saturday of the month. We provided free canned and packaged food to qualified recipients of certain welfare status or low income. Our food source are The Food Bank of South Jersey and donated food from community churches, organizations, and local businesses.

1. COMMUNICATION. if you know of any families that could use our services please let them know that we are here for them. The families can contact the Bread of Life Food Pantry at any time at Epworth UMC in NJ 856-829-1908.

2. DONATIONS & CONTRIBUTIONS. If any organizations, businesses or yourself is considering a service project or a donation to charity, they should know about the Bread of Life Food Pantry. We are always in need of actual food items, gift cards, and monetary gifts. Also see below for special Thanksgiving and Christmas donations.

3. Special Food Pantry Donations for Thanksgiving and Christmas:

A. THANKSGIVING. At our November Pantry Day ( nov. 21st), we plan to provide food for a Thanksgiving dinner for all the families in addition to the usual panty food items.

We need donations for the following:

Stuffing Coffee Instant Mashed Potatoes Juice Canned Yams Hot Chocolate Canned vegetables Tea Bags or Tea Mix Cranberry Sauce Turkeys Gravy

Just let me know on my homepage or e-mail me: Rschef1168@msn.com I will get back to you ASAP

B. CHRISTMAS. At our december Pantry Day Dec.19th , we plan to offer a free Christmas shop with wrapping for the Families who come to the pantry.

Donations of gifts for all ages are needed. Some suggestions are:

New unwrapped toys Gift Cards for; Food stores, Game Stop, Wal-Mart, Target, Bookstores, restaurants,etc.. Beauty products Hats gloves or scarves (Any gift ideas you have or prefer)

Thank you for you help and support.

If you have any questions , please let me know.

Sincerely,

~Baby Buds~,

Julie

Member of Cafemom

&

Bread of Life Food Pantry

2nd Pantry Opening

September, we had our 2nd Food Pantry opening. We did well again, we had 22 families the first time, this time 36 14 more families since the last month. I'm sorry so many families need us but I'm glad we're there to help. We still have lots of volunteers and people bring in food . What a blessing. When everyone is there, even the people needing food, we all have a good time. Talking, laughing, telling stories, the time went by real fast.
Now we're collecting thanksgiving food items, even turkeys and we're having a Christmas shop so everyone can go shopping and have gifts under their tree. We just want to make everyones Christmas a little Merrier.
We're keeping real busy with the Food Pantry, as you can see. It's well worth it.

For donations please call: Julie @ 856-366-5240

What A Wonderful Grand Opening

What a wonderful day it was on Saturday as we officially opened the doors of the Bread of Life Food Pantry to the hungry and needy in our communities. Turnout was light, but not totally unexpected. We served 22 households representing 57 people. We expect the response will grow rapidly over time.

We want to thank everyone again for your food donations, volunteers and financial support which makes all of this possible. Please convey to your congregations how much their support means, and that God has blessed us and is working through all of us to provide this wonderful ministry of compassion and caring in our communities. Well done, my good and faithful servants. Keep it up! We used about 1/3 of our food stock and will need to replenish it for SEP 19. A report regarding expenses will be sent at the end of August, but we actually did very well as food donations over the past few months waiting for our opening sustained most of the opening demand.

Volunteers, you were simply amazing! Mt. Sinai showed up in force on Thursday night to “shelve” the dry goods for Saturday’s opening, and we had more volunteers than we could use on Saturday with some 5 churches represented. It was a good problem to have and gave everyone an opportunity to experience the pantry operation. We will try to schedule volunteers on future operation days, so everyone can share in the blessing.

Again, thank you so much for your wonderful support. It is a blessing to serve with you.

God Bless,

The Entire Epworth Bread of Life Food Pantry Operations Team

GRAND OPENING

GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW FOOD PANTRY

Saturdy Aug. 15, 2009

I'm so excited I can't wait. All our hard work is finally coming true.



WHEN YOU HAVE FAITH ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!!


Thank you everyone.

GRAND OPENING

We had our meeting Tuesday Aug. 3rd and everything passed. We WILL have our GRAND OPENING of the BREAD OF LIFE food pantry AUG. 15, 2009 We are all so excited,can't wait Wooo Hooo!!
Thank you to everyone who made this possible. God, Our Church,The Members of the Food Pantry, 10 other Area Churches,and Our Community. Thank You So Very Much!!!

We had our meeting with the Palmyra Township Board.
The Palmyra Land Use Board reviewed the food pantry's application on Mon evening, Jul 20.
Our Epworth family ( MY CHURCH) was out in full force - Thank You! The Ministerium was also represented.

The good news is that approval of the food pantry was given, but with conditional requirements.
This is consistent with our zoning classification in a residential area.

In order to open the pantry, we must be compliant with all the conditional requirements.
In addition, we are further required to 1) Obtain a Construction Permit for the work done on the
pantry ( only for a wall that has already been put up )2) Pass a pantry room inspection and 3) Receive a Certificate of Occupancy for the pantry.

We are well on the way to complete all these tasks!
IF WE PASS THE INSPECTION of the pantry next week, we will be able to open in AUG.
Otherwise, we will be delayed once again to make the corrections needed and pass inspection.

We will not be discouraged; We're Keeping up the faith.

The Food Pantry team will be having a meeting ourselves Aug. 4th and we'll know how the requirements went.

Hi
Today is June20, this was to be the Grand Opening of the New Food Pantry. Of Course as you read we were not able to open. Today a couple of us sat at the pantry in case anyone showed up and yes 5 did. 2 people came to the door and 3 drove up. We posted a note on the pantry door letting people know that we may not be open right now but we will in time. As for now we let them know where the closest Food Pantry is and took their name and number so we could call them and let them know when we're going to be opened. There is going to be another township meeting July 20 I'll keep you posted.

This is what happened at the meeting with the township.

I know you are all waiting to hear from me!
Learned a lot.
There's Good News & Bad News - it's not a perfect world.
The good news is
1. we at least got the details of food pantry in front of the entire planning board.
2. I got a sense that most board mbrs want the food pantry to happen.

The bad news is
1. The public comment portion of the twnshp plng bd mtg is virtually powerless! No decisions are made - they simply listen. But it was a good way to provide information and test the waters to feel our way to the actions and direction we should take. We shld have done this in March, but I was not aware of "Public Comments" at these meetings. (I am out of my element here).
2. The twnshp plng board still feels they are legally correct in that this is a zoning issue because the church is in a residential zone, however, variances for things like the food pantry (beneficial to the public) are easily dealt with thru a application.

So what do we do now?
1. We have to retrieve all those biz flyers asap - Sorry.
2. The opening on the 20th is not possible. I will be at the church and explain and redirect anyone who comes to Riverside.
3. I will also contact all our coordinators and explain the situation, and to hold off any volunteers.
4. For the moment, I think, the churches shld continue to collect food.
5. I believe we shld still plan to recognize everyone & dedicate the pantry on the 28th.
(I will confirm this with Sang-Won)
6. I will file a zoning application w/ the board and it will be heard at the next mtg July 20.

What lies ahead?
1. I'm not sure anymore, because of my lack of experience with this whole township thing.
2. I feel we can move past the zoning issue, but we will be delayed AT BEST until August, since the plng board only meets once a month.
3. At worst, we may be delayed much longer. If some unknown issues surface at the mtg in July, the board does not meet in August, which puts us into September w/ a opening in Oct.
4. And perhaps Worse than that, there may also be some fire and safety hoops we may have to hurdle (who knows).

Don't mean to be "Doom & Gloom".
I BELIEVE GOD IS IN CONTROL!
I can only go one step at a time and make the best decision I can based on others' recommendations in this regard.
We'll see what happens
and Keep the faith!
I'll keep you in the loop!

Peace

We ran into some problems with Plamyra, NJ townships Zoning Committe

Our Pastor Sang-Won and I have decided to Cancel the opening of the Food Pantry on the 20th!
There are just too many "ifs" flying around.
Sang or I will make an announcement in church Sunday!
SORRY - I know this is very disappointing!

Now - FYI ONLY (unless Sang mentions in his announcement)!
We do have a meeting with the mayor on Monday.
We hope to clear the air and find a way to have the twnshps approval/blessing in an expeditious way!
We don't think the solution will be immediate (why we've cx'd opening)

We will wait until after the meeting to pull all the biz flyers.
I will personally contact all the church coordinators.

I'll keep you updated.

p6 5/28/09

Hi everyone The Food Pantry is getting ready to open soon June 20, 2009. We just had our inspection and passed with flying colors. They liked the way the pantry was set up. Everyone has been so helpful. We asked some of out local churches in the area if they would like to volunteer their time and $25/month and about 5 are willing to help us. We needed some supplies like 4 tables, 4tables were donated,we needed donations of money and food we're getting it. We took some of the money and bought shelves and had them put up. I asked a local dentist in Riverton, NJ if they would like to donate some dental hygeine supplies and they said they will plus they're putting a call out to some of their suppliers to see if they would like to donate too. We went to our local Food Bank of South Jersey in Pennsauken and got all the information and paper work we needed to get ready to start shopping for our pantry. With some of the money donated we can now can open an account with the Food Bank and be able to start shopping and filling the shelves up. Things are really moving fast. We know that God wanted us to open this Food Pantry. Thanks Everyone.

If you'd like to donate please e-mail me Julie @
Rschef1168@msn.com

Thanks again!

P5
We had the Rock Concert Saturday Night and it was a SUCCESS! 3 bands came out to play. Everyone had a wonderful time. They ate, danced and litsened to great music. We all agreed, even the bands said that we should do this again. Even our Pastor agreed it was great. We raise $550. I know next time we will break $1,000.
This weekend May 2 is Paymyra Day in Palmyra,NJ they will have crafters/vendors, food ,music ect. I will be having a table of my Baby Buds and still fundrasising for the Food Pantry. If your in the area please stop by and donate if you can't make it then go To; celebratemoments.webs.com and e-mail me and make a donation that way.
Thanks to everyone who made this Fundraiser a SUCCESS!

ROCK CONCERT FUNDRAISER FOR THE NEW FOOD PANTRY

For the New Food Pantry, my daughter and I and our Church will be hosting a Rock Concert this Saturday April 25th from 6:00 PM - 10:30 PM. It is $5.00 entry, and refreshments are available for purchase. All proceeds are for the "Bread of Life" food pantry at Epworth UMC in Palmyra, NJ need directions go to: celebratemoments.webs.com and e-mail me.

The concert is a casual, coffeehouse atmosphere with three bands playing. There will be a no re-entry policy, meaning everyone stays inside, with adult supervision.

A local band from South Jersey called ~FRIENDS` will play Classic Rock Music. They have a brass section. They are great. You can also hear them play at the Broad St. Pub in Palmyra, NJ.

Help us have a fun time litening to great music and raising money for the New Food Pantry.

Thank you

Pg 4

I just had another meeting about the Food Pantry so here is the update. All that is left to finish on the Food Pantry is New windows, Flooring, Painting and Furniture. On May 1st we will be going to different companies like Wal-Mart, Acme, Shop Rite, Wa Wa and other local Merchants for donations. On May 2nd our township, Palmyra will be having a craft and Car show, Palmyra Day, I will be having a table selling my Rose Buds and giving out infomation about how you can doante to the Food Pantry or if your in need of food where to go. We also have an Opening Date it will be June 20, 2009
Come Out and Join Us at Palmyra Day or Opening Day and Make a Donation!
If you can't make either one then go to my website: celebratemoments.webs.com
and e-mail me and make a donation that way.

A Small Act Can Make A Difference In Someone Life

Thank you very much!

Another Update On The New Food Pantry

Pg. 3
Well it's been about a month since the last update and I have to say that the new Food Pantry is
coming along fast. There have been many of people from the church that have come out to help. They've taken up old tiles, primered the walls, worked on old wiring and more. There are some Boy Scouts that are helping out too. There is one who is now working on his Eagle Scout Project. His father and him have been working very hard. As of now a new drop ceiling and lighting has been put up, a divider wall is almost finished and with that wall a door has been put in. The next thing that will be done is 4 new windows and having the heating system fixed. They said they should be finished in about the next 3 weeks or so then they will have a painting party. Things are looking good. Keep Up The Good Work !

Update On The Fundraiser for a New Food Pantry

Pg. 2
Here is an Update on the New Food Pantry and Wish List
People are hard at work turning this room in our church into the New Food Pantry. This room use to be the SR. High Youth Group Room but there was a small flood and nobody has used it since. Now we have deceided to use it and make it the Food Pantry Room. There are lots of things to be done and bought. We will be painting, putting up shelves, cleaning ect.
WISH LIST
It would be best for monetary contributions so we get exactly what we want.
Some Of The Misc. Items Needed Are:
2 - drawer file cabinet ( w / lock )
Staking bins
Pens
One of those # holders for the numbers we'll be handing to the recipients
Cellophane bags and bag holder
Green bags
2-3 commercial trash cans
Larger Items Would Be:
2 utility carts
1 heavy duty hand truck that has 2 positions ( flat & upright )
We're also going to need a sign that we can change and is weatherproof
We have found a good place to purchase shelving and tables
If you'd like to make a contribution:
Please leave me a message on my HOMEPAGE or
go to: CELEBRATEMOMENTS.WEBS.COM and E-mail me
Thank you,
~Baby Buds~
Julie

You Just Bought Someone A Hot Meal (Fundraiser For A New Food Pantry)

Poetry Against Hunger Pg. 1

CAN YOU SPARE A DIME
by Jesse Garcia

Although most people can't give you their time,
All we are asking for is can you spare a dime.
To some people a dime is no big deal,
But to the homeless, it can mean our next meal.

Waking up during cold winter mornings or hot summer nights,
We are not wanted where there are bright shining lights
We are harassed by the police and passers-by,
They know we need help and won't meet us eye to eye.

Each and everyday we try to survive,
In a land where hunger and diseases thrive.
Most people label us as drunks,
But the reality is most of us live out of our trunks.

Rusted old cars and no where to go
Although we have worked hard we have nothing to show.
Looking for food and no place to stay
Most people don't care if we fade away.

You treat us like criminals yet we didn't commit a crime,
All we are asking is can you spare a dime ?

Did you know...Approximately 4 mill. low-income children under the age of 12 experience hunger each year and an additional 9.6 mill. children are at risk of hunger ?
Did you know...Nearly 100 mill. adults Americans are overweight, while simultaneously, 34.6 mill. people are hungry or food insecure ?
Did you know...on average, an estimated 18% of the requests for emergency food assistance have gone unmet ?

Imagine being strapped by meager income and having to give up meals in order to meet monthly prescription cost. Imagine suffering bad health for longer periods than normal because you don't have enough to eat on a regular basis.
One child's hunger affects us all. A hungry child can not learn on an empty stomach. Even short periods of under-nutrition can affect a child's behavior or sometimes length-of-life. A hungry child is more likely to fall victim to hunger related illnesses.
And this is happening in your own backyard.

I've always wanted to help the homeless and now I can.
One day I was talking to a friend of mine and she mentioned that she volunteers at the local Food Pantry. She told me about the many people who come in the Food Pantry twice a month and how hard it is to get enough food donations. I though I could help out by donating food myself and getting others to help too. My daughter and nephew asked if the could help ? They decided to make 50 bagged lunches. We stayed handing out lunches and carrying grocery bags for people who have health problems or couldn't walk up and down the stairs. They were so thankful for our help that we felt good inside knowing that we were helping others. As the economy got worse more people came to the Food Pantry but there wasn't enough food. We found out that The Government was cutting back on the amount of food that each food pantry would get. That day as we went through half the people the food we gave them started getting less and less per family. We felt so bad we wanted to do more. It was winter and the next time we went back we brought in winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves At Christmas time we collected toys so the parents could pick out gifts for their children and have it under the tree Christmas morning. The parents were so happy. After Christmas the Food Pantry started having more problems, they could only be open once a month now. They knew they needed help so they came to me and asked if I could ask my Pastor of Epworth United Methodist Church in Palmyra, NJ, if he would like to help out by opening a Food Pantry in his church ? He said yes, because he saw the growing need for help in our community. Some people were already coming to him for food. We have now started the paper work and had are first fundraiser. We will be having 2 more soon. The money raised will be used to get supplies and keeping the shelves stocked. It will be opening in the Spring of 2009 . I still wanted to do more. Then it came to me. I make Rose Buds out of baby socks, why not sell them and 1/2 the proceeds will go to the New Food Pantry. There are good people out there who just fell into some economic hard times and could use a little help. By buying 1 white Rose Bud with an orange ribbon and tag ( orange for hunger ) @ $3/rose "You Just Bought Someone A Hot Meal," A small act can make a difference in someones life. Thank You.

Go to: http://celebratemoments.webs.com/ and E-mail me if you'd like a white & orange Rose Bud

We will be keeping you up to date on the progress of the New Food Pantry.


Thank you,

~Baby Buds~
Julie


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