Month: November 2025

How to Help During the SNAP Crisis

Posted on by Sandy Hagen

Not All Food Pantries Are the Same — Here’s How to Help Effectively

Food pantries play a vital role in supplementing the food assistance system. For every meal a pantry provides, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) typically provides nine. With the temporary shutdown of SNAP, this balance has been disrupted, and pantries are working hard to fill the gap.

We’re incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from the community. However, with so much information circulating on social media, we want to clarify an important point:

Every Pantry Is Different

Not all food pantries have the same capacity or resources. Some may not be able to accept or store perishable items like milk due to limited refrigeration or freezer space. Others may have different food distribution models or storage limitations.

That’s why well-meaning donations—like cases of milk—may not always be helpful to every pantry.

The Best Way to Help? Ask First.

To make the biggest impact, we encourage you to contact your local pantry directly and ask what they need most. Financial donations are always appreciated and allow pantries to purchase exactly what’s needed. But when it comes to food donations, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

How You Can Support the Barry J. Vine Food Pantry at JFS

We’re currently focused on collecting items that can be paired together to create full meals, especially as we approach the holiday season.

Donate Funds:
Click here to make a financial contribution, which maximizes our spending power for the pantry to purchase quantities at discount.

Donate Food:
We’re especially in need of the following:

Breakfast Items

  • Cereal (for kids and adults)
  • Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat
  • Kid-friendly juice or milk boxes

Lunch & Dinner

  • Canned soups, broths, pasta, chili
  • Canned chicken, tuna, salmon
  • Pasta (all shapes)
  • Peanut butter and jelly

Meal Sides

  • Microwaveable rice and pasta
  • Stuffing, Rice-a-Roni, Couscous, Quinoa
  • Tuna Helper, Hamburger Helper

Drinks

  • Powdered milk envelopes
  • Coffee (ground or instant), tea bags, hot chocolate
  • Juice and milk boxes for kids

Condiments

  • Ketchup, mustard (yellow and spicy), mayo
  • BBQ sauce, salad dressings, relish

Canned Vegetables

  • Potatoes (whole, diced, sliced)
  • Peas, carrots, corn, green beans
  • Beets, yams, spinach, collards
  • Pigeon peas, black-eyed peas

Holiday & Baking Items

  • Sugar, flour
  • Cake and brownie mixes, frosting

Donation Drop-Off:
Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 AM – 4 PM
Need another time? Call us at (203) 397-0796 to schedule.