Food Pantry Donations
Non-perishable food is always needed and welcomed in our Food Pantry. Feel free to come by with any non-perishable items during our open hours or by special arrangement.
Food Pantry Donation Hours:
Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday from 9a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
3rd Saturday of the month 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The Food Pantry also distributes personal care items. You can bring unopened/unused personal care items to the Center, and the Pantry will distribute them along with monthly groceries. Unused travel size items are also welcome.
Most wanted food items:
Brown rice
Canned fruits (all kinds, low sugar please)
Canned vegetables (all kinds)
Dried beans (black beans, red beans, all Goya varieties etc.)
Kids snacks (granola bars, fruit leathers, dried fruits, snack mixes, small applesauces, no sugar please)
Meat and chicken soups (canned and boxed)
Pasta (all varieties, especially non-spaghetti. Gluten-free also appreciated!)
Most wanted personal items:
Toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss
Menstrual Products (Tampons and Pads)
Disposable Diapers for Children – sizes 4, 5, and 6
Disposable Diapers/Incontinence briefs for Adults (pull-on brief style)
Soap
Shampoo
Items for our Thanksgiving Boost:
Stuffing
Cranberry sauce
Canned pumpkin
Boxed mashed potatoes
Gravy
Green beans
Cream of mushroom soup
Other holiday themed foods
We appreciate your thoughtful donations.
Kitchen Donations
The Amherst Survival Center welcomes your donations of food for our kitchen. The following are guidelines for donations:
Dry Food:
All unexpired, unopened non-perishable foods are welcome to be donated to the Food Pantry. If you are interested in donating non-perishable food to the kitchen, we accept the following unopened items:
- Olive oil
- Bottled salad dressings
- Rice vinegar
- Boxed cereals
- Vegan soup base
Cooked Food:
The Center serves approximately 100 people during each lunch and 65 people for dinner. Food donated for a meal should serve approximately 40-100 people.
We appreciate your thoughtful donations. Before donating cooked food to the kitchen, please contact Becky Lockwood at kitchen@amherstsurvival.org or Carleen Basler at programdirector@amherstsurvival.org
Guidelines for cooked food donations:
· We ask that donated cooked food come to the Center in disposable containers.
· Only food that has not been left out for service at an event will be accepted.
· If food is cold, it must be kept cold/refrigerated.
· If food is hot, it must come here soon after coming out of the oven OR be cooled immediately and brought here within 2 days.
· We ask that you make arrangements to drop off donated food so we can expect it! (Ideally, donated food will come to the center between 9 and 10 a.m. if it’s intended for lunch, between 2 and 3 p.m. on Thursday if it’s intended for dinner and/or other arrangements are made.)
· We prefer if you note any of the following allergens so we can let people know: dairy, egg, fish (including seafood and shelfish), gluten/wheat, peanuts/tree nuts, soy.
Want to organize a community food drive?
Please let us know if you’re organizing (or would like to organize) a Food Drive! Contact the Food Pantry Coordinator, pantry@amherstsurvival.org, x104. We can put it on our calendar (so we can plan for it) and offer additional support! See the the lists above for most wanted food items and personal care items.
Neighborhood Food Project
The Neighborhood Food Project is an innovative food collection program. Neighborhood Coordinators recruit teams of their neighbors to make a regular donation to the Amherst Survival Center food pantry 6 times per year. Food donors assemble their donated goods and leave them on their stoop, and Neighborhood Coordinators pick them up and deliver them to the Amherst Survival Center where they go straight to our shelves and then to families in need.
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