AUBURN - Twenty-three years ago the Calvary Food Pantry CNY began in one small room in what was then the Calvary Presbyterian Church on Franklin Street in Auburn.
The food pantry began with one simple, but deeply meaningful purpose: “People need to eat,” Nancy Sheffield, coordinator of the food pantry said. “We started out feeding and helping out people here at the church and in the neighborhood and it has grown from there.”
Sheffield estimated that the food pantry serves about 200 families a month.
The pantry is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “We have walk-ins and most people make appointments. But we try to provide enough to give people three meals a day for five days,” Sheffield explained. “We've had a lot of fresh produce, the farmers have really been great to us this year and we also have had things like school supplies to help families out.”
She said that all of this is made possible through the dedication and commitment of many community organizations and individual supporters that donate money, food and time to make sure families receive the support they need. The pantry also holds fundraisers to help raise funds and awareness.
Friday morning, the pantry hosted its annual rummage sale at the Franklin Street location. Sheffield said that the food pantry has been holding these rummage sales twice a year for at least the past decade and that they have proven to be very successful events.
“We are pretty busy in the summer,” Sheffield said. “Kids are out of school and they need to eat.”
And with the winter and holiday months rapidly approaching, fall becomes an important time for the food pantry to make sure that it has the ability to help as many people as possible.
“We'll be doing Thanksgiving baskets,” she said. “We make sure that people get a whole Thanksgiving dinner; turkey, potatoes, stuffing, the whole meal. We'll be doing at least 200 of those baskets again this year. And once people have to start paying the heating bill, it just gets tougher for families during the holidays and winter months.”
Sheffield said that throughout the year, numerous people in the community donate items for the rummage sale.
“People always say they have stuff and they don't know what to do with it,” Sheffield said. “I always tell them to bring it down here. People have been very generous with us, donating to help make this possible.”
The rummage sale offers a wide variety of items, as well as hot dogs and homemade chili, both of which have become staples of the rummage sale, as well as homemade breads and other baked goods.
Sheffield said that the sale got off to a good start Friday morning and has generally been a strong fundraiser for the food pantry.
“Personally, I like rummage and yard sales,” Sheffield said. “I think a lot of people do. This way they get to find something for themselves and at the same time they get to do something for someone else. I think people like that about this sale, it is all for a good cause and it all goes toward helping other people.”
If You Go
What: Rummage sale
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today
Where: Calvary Food Pantry, 90 Franklin St., Auburn
Sheffield estimated that the food pantry serves about 200 families a month.
The pantry is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “We have walk-ins and most people make appointments. But we try to provide enough to give people three meals a day for five days,” Sheffield explained. “We've had a lot of fresh produce, the farmers have really been great to us this year and we also have had things like school supplies to help families out.”
She said that all of this is made possible through the dedication and commitment of many community organizations and individual supporters that donate money, food and time to make sure families receive the support they need. The pantry also holds fundraisers to help raise funds and awareness.
Friday morning, the pantry hosted its annual rummage sale at the Franklin Street location. Sheffield said that the food pantry has been holding these rummage sales twice a year for at least the past decade and that they have proven to be very successful events.
“We are pretty busy in the summer,” Sheffield said. “Kids are out of school and they need to eat.”
And with the winter and holiday months rapidly approaching, fall becomes an important time for the food pantry to make sure that it has the ability to help as many people as possible.
“We'll be doing Thanksgiving baskets,” she said. “We make sure that people get a whole Thanksgiving dinner; turkey, potatoes, stuffing, the whole meal. We'll be doing at least 200 of those baskets again this year. And once people have to start paying the heating bill, it just gets tougher for families during the holidays and winter months.”
Sheffield said that throughout the year, numerous people in the community donate items for the rummage sale.
“People always say they have stuff and they don't know what to do with it,” Sheffield said. “I always tell them to bring it down here. People have been very generous with us, donating to help make this possible.”
The rummage sale offers a wide variety of items, as well as hot dogs and homemade chili, both of which have become staples of the rummage sale, as well as homemade breads and other baked goods.
Sheffield said that the sale got off to a good start Friday morning and has generally been a strong fundraiser for the food pantry.
“Personally, I like rummage and yard sales,” Sheffield said. “I think a lot of people do. This way they get to find something for themselves and at the same time they get to do something for someone else. I think people like that about this sale, it is all for a good cause and it all goes toward helping other people.”
If You Go
What: Rummage sale
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today
Where: Calvary Food Pantry, 90 Franklin St., Auburn
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