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Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard (MHC), a Bloomington community food pantry, received $5,000 from Perry Township Trustee’s Office supporting our Food Pantry Program. With decreased grant funding and steadily increasing client demand for MHC’s Food Pantry, this financial assistance from Perry Township is crucial to the continued success of our program. The $5,000 award enables MHC to fully stock our pantry shelves for 7 weeks, providing 10,150 bags of healthy groceries to people in need. During this time of rising food prices and increases in the basic cost of living, low-income households feel their budgets squeezed ever tighter, and many are using services like MHC for assistance. Perry Township also supports MHC’s work in the community by providing our current Food Pantry facility rent-free since 2000, an in-kind annual value of $15,760. MHC's long-term partnership with Perry Township, and the Township's recent financial support for our programs are instrumental in helping us meet growing client demand and better serve our community. Strong Showing of Community Support at MHC's 6th Annual Harvest Team Breakfast
At MHC's Annual Harvest Team Breakfast fundraiser on March 6, over 150 attendees learned about MHC’s programs. This event generated over $46,000 in revenue to support our programs. This was made possible in part by a generous anonymous donor who matched the first $10,000 we raised, dollar-for-dollar. We depend on financial support from community donors to fund the majority of our programmatic expenses. Thank you to all who attended, made gifts, supported MHC with in-kind donations and volunteered to make this event possible. Much of the support MHC receives at this event is in the form of multi-year pledges and/or automatic monthly bank account contributions. If you are interested in joining MHC’s Harvest Team by making a multi-year pledge of support to our programs contact Brooke for more information or call 355-6843. Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, Inc. Supports MHC's Community Gardening Program
In fall 2007 MHC received $5,612 from the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, Inc. in support of our Community Gardening Program. In spring of 2008 MHC will begin using this award to purchase much needed gardening tools, materials, and a seasonal hoop house for extended growing! Bolstering MHC’s gardening supplies means that we can host more volunteers in our gardens and grow even more food this year. In 2007 our volunteers and patrons tended the gardens, growing 2,200 pounds of organically grown vegetables. This food would have a retail value of $4,840 if our clients were to purchase the same groceries at a store. Support from the Community Foundation enables MHC's Community Gardening Program to meet growing client demand for wholesome, emergency food assistance and allows our program to provide significantly more hands-on educational opportunities to youth, clients and volunteers. | |