Riverbank Assembly of God Food Ministry is a community food pantry. We are operated within our House of Worship and run by volunteers. Community members who visit our food pantry are only asked to provide their names and the number of people in their household. The families we serve are typically rural and vary in age and family structure. On average we distribute 120 boxes each week, with each box serving households of 4-6 individuals. We regularly offer canned goods, dry goods (such as cereal, pasta, and boxed goods (such as mac & cheese). Occasionally, we are able to provide bread, meat, and dairy products. However the food that we are able to supply to the community is largely impacted by the availability of food provided by the Salvation Army, where we receive the majority of the donations to our pantry. Our community members are in need of more bread, meat, and dairy and we very rarely are able to provide produce. Unfortunately, we often have to throw out produce because it is molded or rotted and unfit to distribute.
Our ability to pick up food is very limited. Our pantry serves the community on Tuesdays from 9:30 pm to 12:00 pm and our volunteers arrive for preparation at 7:30 am. We have refrigeration on site, however the space is very limited.
ProducePedia
ProducePedia is a free resource that covers the types of fresh produce that can be delivered to food pantries. Each entry includes information on color, taste, and possible uses. People unfamiliar with the vegetable or fruit will learn how to use it, and those who are familiar with it still might learn a fun fact or two!
The Cooperative Extension sites have a wealth of information for any backyard gardener. Once you go to the site (each one if very different from the others) look for a link for “homes and gardens”, “landscape”, “consumer horticulture”, etc. to find information on improving your backyard garden. Neighboring state sites may offer information your own state’s site lacks.
