Local pantries gear up for next holiday

[news]

Local pantries gear up for next holiday

By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
Posted: Friday, November 23, 2007 11:30 AM EST

Food pantries in the area have already given complete Thanksgiving dinners to needy families, and they say there’s more help to come.

Sixty families in the greater Cranbury area, who may have otherwise gone without the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, received a food basket complete with trimmings, said Deanna Anderson, a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury’s Board of Deacons.

Church officials say the have plans to do the same in time for Christmas.

To get the pantry’s help, families either contacted the church requesting the service or local schools and neighbor churches identified those in need, she said.

Ms. Anderson said community help in collecting and packing baskets came from groups such as the church’s youth group, the local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, the Cub Scouts, the Cranbury School Student Council and the Four Seasons senior community.

Baskets contained groceries such as cranberry sauce and stuffing, as well as fresh produce like potatoes and onions.

”Every family gets a turkey and all of the makings for a Thanksgiving dinner,” she said.

But the church was looking past the leftovers and wanted to make sure these needy families had more than one day to be thankful for a well-balanced meal.

”Depending on the size of the family, we also dropped off one or two boxes of just food,” Ms. Anderson said.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the church’s food pantry, Skeet’s Pantry, is gearing up for the next holiday, Ms. Anderson said, and the pantry is again depending on the community to help.
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http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2007/11/23/cranbury_press/news/doc4746ffbab830e496097141.prt