We continue our partnership with the Nemaha County Food Pantry in July as we focus on Desserts. Pudding cups, gelatin, packaged cookies, cake mixes, fruit snacks, and the like are a sweet treat that brightens the day of those just trying to stay afloat day to day. Drop off your donations of shelf-stable desserts, or any other non-expired and unopened food items here at the library during our regular business hours: M-Th 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM, Fri 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Sat 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Don’t want to hassle with going to the store or guessing which brand or size to get? We collect cash donations to deliver to the Food Pantry also!
For an average of $6.00 per kit, you can make a birthday cake baking kit that doesn’t require eggs, oil, or milk so the whole kit can sit on the shelf together until it’s needed! One box of cake mix, one regular sized frosting can, one 9×12 foil cake pan, and one 12 oz can of Sprite (or other complimentary flavored soda pop) provides a basic celebratory staple that might otherwise go overlooked. Substitute the Sprite for the wet ingredients in the cake mix, bake the cake in the pan per usual instructions, cool, and frost, and you have a birthday cake to celebrate with! We were skeptical here at the library, so we tried it… for Science! We were stuck using a toaster oven for our trial run so we weren’t 100% sure if the results were accurate, but what we had come out was still actually pretty good (we did yellow cake, 7up, and lemon frosting). If you want to share one or more of these kits with the Food Pantry we recommend bagging each kit up individually so the parts don’t get separated during processing.
This is a service we offer the community. The Food Pantry is staffed by volunteers and is open one day a week. Rather than having to remember what day and hours they are open, you can drop your donations by the library and we will deliver them for you! We highlight different items to donate each month as a way of offering some direction and to promote awareness. When everything is needed on a regular basis, it can be helpful to have some guidance.
If you have large donations it is best to deliver them directly to the food pantry. We can help facilitate a drop off time if needed. Call us during regular business hours at 785-336-2377.
Some Important Points to Note:
* The Food Pantry is closed the second Wednesday of every month.
* Paper goods and personal hygiene products are also always needed!
* Opened and outdated products are NOT accepted at the Pantry.
Each Family receives the following items Once a Month.
- 1 breakfast item
- 4 cans of vegetables
- 1 can of beans
- 1 package of rice
- 1 pasta and sauce
- 1 jar of peanut butter
- 1 box of crackers
- 2 cans of fruit
- 1 can of tuna or chicken
- 2 cans of soup
- 1 dessert
- 1 pound of meat.
While we highlight different donation items each month here at the library, the following items are ALWAYS NEEDED:
- Paper products [toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex]
- personal products [feminine hygiene, sanitary wipes, etc.]
- boxed cereals
- oatmeal
- pancake mix and pancake syrup
- canned vegetables
- rice
- pasta and pasta sauce
- peanut butter
- boxed crackers
- canned fruit
- canned tuna
- canned chicken
- boxed tuna and chicken helper
- canned soups
- jello and pudding mixes
- cookies
- cake mixes and frosting
- pie mix
- and more!
- They also accept laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, and bath soap.