The Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 47 families on Thursday, 09 May 2013. Each family received fresh new or red potatoes, selections from the personal shopping table, fresh eggs, frozen meats, peanut butter, and a number one and a number two bag for each family member. Number one bags contain canned protein and canned fruit. Number two bags contain canned vegetables or soups, dried beans, and rice or grain. Food distributed by the Seven Loaves Food Pantry comes from the North Texas Food Bank, food collections conducted by various companies, and donations delivered to St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. Canned proteins are currently in short supply at the Seven Loaves Food Pantry. Canned proteins include tuna, chicken, salmon, ham, etc. If you want to donate food items to Seven Loaves Food Pantry, please consider donating canned proteins. Cash donations enable the pantry to purchase food from the North Texas Food Bank at prices significantly lower than neighborhood retail grocery stores. All donations are greatly appreciated and help people in need of good nutritional foods who cannot afford to purchase these foods. Unusual items are sometimes donated. These are placed on the personal shopping table for clients who want these items that do not fit the normal pantry distribution. All donated items are checked for safe to use date codes and counted. Two unusual items checked in on Thursday, 09 May 2013 are Turkey Bath Brine Concentrate and Haldiram’s Gulab Jamun; there was only one of each. Turkey Bath Brine Concentrate is like a marinade but faster and more effective at tenderizing and seasoning meat. Gulab Jamun is a classic Indian dessert, for all occasions including festivals or major celebrations, of soft cottage cheese dumplings with cardamom flavored sugar syrup.
Three segments of Seven Loaves CommUnity were open on Thursday, 21 February 2013: Seven Loaves Food Pantry, Joseph’s Coat, and Legal Clinic. All these activities were at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 53 families. Each family received fresh oranges, selections from the personal shopping table, fresh eggs, peanut butter, and frozen meats. Each member of each family received one number one bag and one number two bag. Each number one bag contained canned protein and canned fruit. Each number two bag contained canned vegetables, dried black beans, and rice or pasta. Joseph’s Coat provided gently used clothing to registered food pantry clients. Vouchers for Joseph’s Coat are distributed by Seven Loaves Food Pantry for redemption at Joseph’s Coat. Legal Clinic volunteers assisted clients with legal issues. Clients should bring appropriate documents for review at the Legal Clinic. Seven Loaves CommUnity is on the World Wide Web. Donations to Seven Loaves Food Pantry and Joseph’s Coat are always appreciated and accepted at St. Andrew United Methodist Church at 5801 West Plano Parkway in Plano, Texas 75093. Park in the lot off of Mira Vista Boulevard and enter through the doors that face the north. Place donations in rolling baskets in the hallway. Receipts are available in room 134. The food pantry needs canned fruit and canned protein. Canned fruit that is labeled “Lite / No Sugar Added” or “100% Juice” such as pears, peaches, mixed fruit, or oranges are preferred. Canned protein includes chicken, tuna, and salmon.
Seven Loaves CommUnity includes several segments of service. The Seven Loaves Food Pantry provides clients one week of healthy food and is the portal that provides access to resources for other needs. Joseph’s Coat distributes free gently used clothing to registered pantry clients. Project Hope provides women in crisis opportunity to make real changes in their family's life. CareerCare helps persons who are unemployed or underemployed by providing access to career assessment testing, networking that includes 30-second commercials/introductions, training based on the Crossroads Career® Workbook, and job leads. Health and Healing is provided through Plano Children’s Medical Clinic and West Side Clinic. A Legal Clinic provides clients help with legal issues. Transitional Housing assistance is provided to clients with this need. Education assistance helps children learn to read, people learn English as a second language, and people study for general educational development (GED) tests. Information about Seven Loaves CommUnity is available on the World Wide Web through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Use the following universal resource locators (URLs) to find Seven Loaves CommUnity on the World Wide Web. LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/seven-loaves-food-pantry-&-community-center Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SevenLoaves Twitter: https://twitter.com/ #7LoavesPlano World Wide Web pages: Seven Loaves Food Pantry http://www.7loavescommunity.org/home.html Joseph's Coat http://www.7loavescommunity.org/josephscoat.html Project Hope http://www.7loavescommunity.org/projecthope.htm Career Care http://www.standrewumc.org/connect/ministries/learning/career-care/
Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 266 individuals by distributing 3,639 pounds of food. Joseph’s Coat gave 1,088 articles of clothing to 272 people. Seven Loaves Food Pantry and Joseph’s Coat are ministries of Seven Loaves CommUnity. Both operate out of St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. Other ministries of Seven Loaves CommUnity include Project Hope, West Side Clinic, and a legal clinic.
Seven Loaves CommUnity managers met on Monday, 11 February 2013. Six people participated in this meeting. Seven Loaves Food Pantry, Joseph’s Coat, and West Side Clinic were represented.
The food pantry served 1800 people during January 2013.
It was decided that a brief meeting beginning at 3:45 PM and ending before the pantry opens at 4:00 PM is the most convenient time for face-to-face meetings. New technology including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will be used to exchange information and minimize the need for face-to-face meetings. Successful non-profits are on the cutting edge of technology. Seven Loaves volunteers are encouraged to like, follow, and connect with the Seven Loaves CommUnity on these social media.
Most volunteers at the Thursday food pantry are retired or otherwise unemployed. This enables them to be at the pantry during typical business hours. Most volunteers at the Saturday food pantry are currently employed and only able to volunteer on Saturday.
Terry Breedlove is arranging to print Certificates of Appreciation on card stock. This certificate will be given to organizations and individuals who provide significant support to Seven Loaves CommUnity. The organization or individual will be named on the certificate and the function of Seven Loaves CommUnity supported will be identified. Chic-fil-A will be one of the first to receive this Certificate of Appreciation.
One possible project is to place boxes with billboards in various businesses to collect change donations. Another possible project will be Seven Loaves Check Printers placed in automobile dealership; this could be an Eagle Scout project.
Kohl’s Department Store is accepting nominations of persons less than 18 years of age to recognize for their volunteer activities. Terry Breedlove is open for nominations of Seven Loaves volunteers who can be submitted to Kohl’s.
West Side Clinic has been canceled due because there were no medical care providers. Paid staff has been removed. Financial qualification is scaring potential clients away. Clinic is in desperate need of consistent leadership.
Email distribution lists need to be updated to enable appropriate information about each part of Seven Loaves CommUnity to be sent to each address.
Terry Breedlove has ordered four new signs that have the correct pantry times displayed.
We need to get word out that Seven Loaves volunteers can get credit for Seven Loaves Food Pantry by volunteering at the North Texas Food Bank. They need to sign in on the Seven Loaves Food Pantry account at the North Texas Food Bank.
Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 51 families on Thursday, 07 February 2013. Each family made selections from the personal shopping table; received fresh potatoes, fresh eggs, frozen meats; and received one number one and one number two bag of food for each family member. Number one bags typically contain canned protein such as chicken, tuna, salmon, beef, or ham; however, some of the number one bags this session contained a can of chicken and fresh fruit (apples, grapefruit, oranges, and bananas) because of a shortage of canned fruit. Each number two bag of food contained four cans of vegetables or soup, a bag of dried beans, and a grain such as pasta or rice. Specific contents of the number one and two bags vary according to what is in stock in the dry room. A videographer recorded during this pantry session. These video recordings will be shown in worship services at St. Andrew United Methodist Church to promote the Seven Loaves Food Pantry. The food pantry is usually open on Thursday afternoons/evenings and on Saturday mornings. Seven Loaves Food Pantry is located in St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas. Enter from Mira Vista Boulevard and park in a lot north or east of the church building. Clients enter through doors under the YOUTH COMMONS sign that faces east toward Mira Vista Boulevard. Volunteers enter through doors that face north toward Steeplechase Park. The food pantry is one function of Common Unity, Inc. (dba Seven Loaves CommUnity) a faith-based 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue Service nonprofit agency. Other functions include coat distribution through Joseph’s Coat, medical care at West Side Clinic, specialized help through Project Hope, and legal assistance through a legal clinic. More information is available at http://www.7loavescommunity.org/home.html.
Seven Loaves Food Pantry was open on Thursday, 31 January 2013 and served 48 families. Each family received fresh potatoes; made selections from the personal shopping table; received frozen meats; fresh eggs, and one number one bag and one number two bag for each family member. Each number one bag of food contained canned protein and three cans of fruit. Each number two bag of food contained four cans of vegetables or soup, a bag of dried beans, and a grain such as pasta or rice. Specific contents of the number one and two bags vary according to what is in stock in the dry room. The food pantry will be open again on Thursday, 07 February 2013 between 4:00 PM and 6:30 PM. Seven Loaves Food Pantry is located in St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas. The food pantry is one function of Common Unity, Inc. (dba Seven Loaves CommUnity) a faith-based 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue Service nonprofit agency. Other functions include coat distribution through Joseph’s Coat, medical care at West Side Clinic, specialized help through Project Hope, and legal assistance through a legal clinic. More information is available at http://www.7loavescommunity.org/home.html.
Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 41 families on Thursday, 03 January 2013. Each family made selections from the personal-shopping table, received a bag of potatoes, received peanut butter, and received frozen meats. The personal-shopping table typically includes breads, fruit juices, breakfast cereal, miscellaneous food items, and personal care products. Each family member received one number one bag of food and one number two bag of food. Each number one bag of food contained canned protein and three cans of fruit. Each number two bag of food contained four cans of vegetables or soup, a bag of dried beans, and a grain such as pasta or rice. Specific contents of the number one and two bags vary according to what is in stock in the dry room. All functions of the pantry are performed by volunteers. Volunteer functions include: Food Runner Supervisors; Food Runners; Fresh and Frozen Food Distributors; Setup and Opening Manager; Volunteer Managers; Greeter; Receptionist; Client Intake Supervisor; Client Intake Staff; Spanish Translators; Personal Shopping Supervisor, and Dry Pantry Supervisor. (I am the Dry Pantry Supervisor on most Thursdays.) The pantry is stocked through donations from individuals, donations from food drives, donations from local grocery stores, purchases from the North Texas Food Bank, and occasional purchases from Costco or equivalent business. The pantry is also open on Saturdays.
Seven Loaves Community held a managers meeting on Thursday, 03 January 2013 at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas that was attended by 15 people. Reports were presented for Seven Loaves Food Pantry, Joseph’s Coat, West Side Clinic, and Project Hope. Volunteers will begin signing in on a dedicated computer in place of the handwritten log sheets. Annual Civil Rights training and bi-annual MinistrySafe certification are required.
The Seven Loaves Food Pantry served 54 client families on Thursday, 06 September 2012 between 4:00 PM and 6:30 PM. One client family is defined as from one person to nine people. Each client family received fresh pears in addition to selections from the personal shopping table, eggs, frozen meats, one number-one and one number-two bag of food items for each family member. The number-one bag of food typically contains canned protein (tuna, chicken, salmon, chili, stew, SPAM©, or ham) and three cans of fruit (apple sauce, pears, peaches, mixed fruit, Mandarin oranges, etc.). The number-two bag of food typically contains four canned vegetables or soups, beans (typically a bag of dried beans when available otherwise two cans of beans), and a grain (rice) or pasta (spaghetti with a can of spaghetti sauce or macaroni and cheese). The content of the bags of food changes according to what is in stock in the panty. In the past week, this food pantry was stocked with canned peaches after being out of canned fruit for several weeks. This food pantry located in St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas served one client in April 2009. It now serves more than 600 clients each week. Between April 2009 and July 2012 this food pantry served 50,000 clients and 3,762 volunteer hours have been donated to this food pantry. The Seven Loaves Food Pantry stresses radical hospitality. Donations of canned fruit (size 303 cans preferred), pasta, and rice would be a tremendous help for the Seven Loaves Food pantry at this time. Donations should be delivered to St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas 75093; items are collected on the east side of the campus in the first floor hallway of the Education building at the entrance to the Youth Commons – enter through the doors at the north end of the Education building. Receipts for donations are available. Official information about the Seven Loaves Food Pantry & Community Center is available at http://www.7loavescommunity.org/home.html and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seven-Loaves-Food-Pantry-Community-Center/136331916471019. For more information, call 469-385-1813 or email: [email protected].
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