Month: November 2023

More Than Food: A Mountain of Toilet Paper from Georgia-Pacific

Joan Koehne
Donation of 6 pallets of toilet paper from Georgia-Pacific.

Did you know that Hope Center Pantry gives away more than just nonperishable food? The pantry also distributes personal hygiene supplies like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, disposable razors, sanitary napkins, and tampons. One of the most sought-after items on the pantry shelves isn’t food – it’s toilet paper! Toilet paper is a basic necessity in every household. About half of the Hope Center Pantry clients rely on FoodShare benefits.

Overjoyed to Receive Donation

FoodShare strives to end hunger by providing benefits to people who have limited money to buy food. Individuals can use FoodShare benefits to purchase food, but they can’t use FoodShare benefits to purchase paper products such as toilet paper and facial tissues. That’s why the pantry was overjoyed to receive a wonderful donation of toilet paper from Georgia-Pacific.

Georgia-Pacific Donates 6 Pallets of Toilet Paper

Georgia-Pacific donated a mountain of toilet paper to the Hope Center Pantry. Pantry volunteers were astounded by the paper manufacturer’s generosity. Georgia-Pacific donated six pallets of huge rolls of toilet paper. Seven, hard-working volunteers loaded and unloaded the toilet paper. Believe it or not, they accomplished the task in only 70 minutes. Thank you, Georgia Pacific, and all corporate donors, for helping improve the lives of those experiencing poverty and food insecurity.

Thank You to Business and Nonprofits Donors

Hope Center Pantry appreciates its business and nonprofit partners who donate to the pantry and those who organize food drives, like the Letter Carriers, Youth Hockey, Boy Scouts, and Thrivent. Also, thank you to organizations that collect personal hygiene supplies and paper products. Thank you all!

Wagon Donation Empowers Pantry Clients

Joan Koehne
Pantry client using donated wagon to carry food.

The Hope Center Pantry strives to make life easier for people experiencing food insecurity, and a wagon donation achieves this. Quite a few of the Hope Center Pantry clients do not have vehicles or cannot drive. So, they walk to the pantry, 501 Clinton St., Green Bay, to pick up their groceries. Sometimes, they live miles away!

As a pantry staff, we have seen them sort through their food items to determine what they can physically carry to their home. The heavier items are sometimes left behind, even though they could really benefit from having them.

Thankfully, Hope Center Pantry resolved this problem. In fall of 2023, a generous donor gave the pantry a new, Uline lightweight wagon. Clients can borrow the donated wagon to transport their groceries home. So, having this wagon available means they can take ALL of their allocated groceries home with them.

Pantry clients have been so happy to use the little blue wagon, and pantry volunteers are so happy to see pantry clients leave the pantry with the food they need to feed themselves and their families. For information regarding how to donate or volunteer at the pantry, contact us today.

Halloween Bash: Fun Night and Food Drive

Joan Koehne
Food drive donations for Hope Center Pantry

It wasn’t scary at all to collect food for the Hope Center Pantry. Two local companies combine efforts to create a fun evening and help stock the food supplies at Hope Center Pantry. On Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, the Alpha Team and Rogue Endeavors hosted their twelfth annual Halloween Boo Bash. The event was held at The Automobile Gallery & Event Center in downtown Green Bay. The theme was “A Night at the Movies.” Attendees were encouraged to dress as their favorite movie character. There were complimentary drinks, snacks, movie trivia games, and casino games.

1 in 5 Kids Face Hunger in Brown County, WI

Admittance to this event was a food donation. Why? Because 1 in 5 children in the Brown County area struggle to get enough to eat. This is a great way for these organization to put on a food drive to help support our local community. Who doesn’t enjoy socializing for a cause? There were over 150 attendees at this event. Hope Center Pantry couldn’t be more thrilled to be the recipients of so much, high-quality food.

Food Drive Shows Community Generosity

When our volunteers were sorting all of the donations from the food drive, there were so many squeals of delight. You made the volunteers day! But, even better than that, you made a difference to the lives of Hope Center Pantry clients. They know there are many generous folks in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to help them out. This Halloween event helped the Alpha Team and Rogue Endeavors reach their 2023 goal of collecting 100,000 pounds of food for local pantries.

To learn how to organize a food drive for your company or nonprofit organization, contact us.

Green Bay Packers’ De’Vondre Campbell Sacks Hunger

Joan Koehne
holiday food box from Chucky Sacks Hunger

A Green Bay Packers player is helping to feed the clients at Hope Center Pantry who are experiencing food insecurity. Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell partnered with Campbell’s for the Chunky Sacks Hunger program. De’Vondre and other NFL defensive players are members of The Soup Squad. They will donate over two million meals to people in need. Chunky Sacks Hunger donates one meal to Feeding America for every Chunky Bowl sold during the NFL season.

Additionally, Chunky and De’Vondre Campbell will continue their support of Feeding America all season long by donating 1,000 Campbell’s products every time the Packers make a sack.

On Oct. 31, De’Vondre volunteered at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to pack holiday meal boxes. The food boxes contained cans of Campbell’s Chunky Soup, three pounds of rice, and one pound of black beans. Plus, Feeding America added a two-pound bag of pasta. The Hope Center Pantry received 70 holiday meal boxes and distributed them to pantry families.

Hope Center Pantry was one of several food pantries in the Green Bay area that benefited from De’Vondre’s generosity and the Chunky Sacks Hunger initiative. It is truly heartwarming to see caring athletes like De’Vondre give back to the underserved in Green Bay. Go, Pack, Go!