Kitchen Cupboard thankful for community support

It’s a busy time of year for everyone, especially for the volunteers at the Newfield Kitchen Cupboard, a local food pantry located at the Newfield United Methodist Church.

The pantry, established in 1982, initially provided a bag of common grocery items to supplement a household’s meal budget but has since expanded to meet a broader need for those who reside in the town of Newfield.

The Newfield Kitchen Cupboard is now open on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, offering a wide variety of all food groups as well as many specialty items, such as bakery items, donated by local stores like Wegmans and Panera.

The number of families using the pantry as a food resource spiked at the start of the pandemic and then leveled off, but the need has increased again in recent months, said Marjorie Strosnider, a Newfield Kitchen Cupboard coordinator.

“Holiday times always bring an increase too, in both donations and families served,” she said. “We have just started our winter hours of 4 to 6 p.m. to allow for some daylight pickup.”

The process is simple, and guests of the food pantry can remain comfortably in their vehicles, which some prefer to going inside.

Community members who wish to receive food and items from the food pantry form a line in the Newfield United Methodist church parking lot and are welcomed by pantry volunteers. The volunteers greet the guests, explain the process and hand out numbered menus. Guests can then circle their menu selections, and the items are collected and returned to the Newfield residents in their vehicles.

The entire process moves swiftly and efficiently, and sometimes other helpful items are available.

“We have enough shopping carts to move the line along quite quickly,” Strosnider said. “While they are waiting in line, they may also choose to get out and check out items offered on a cart along the sidewalk with extra items, fresh produce, and just this week we had a clothing rack with winter coats donated by the Tioga State Bank.”

The food pantry provides a variety of options and is managed by a pantry advisory team, which makes decisions about purchasing, operating hours and general operations.

“I think the menu gives them choices that they prefer or that they are able to eat (if they have a restricted diet) just as a grocery store offers, but from the privacy of their cars,” Strosnider said.

Special menu items are available during the holidays. Strosnider explained that some items, such as turkeys and accompanying special meal items, are provided by food bank grants. Members of the community provide other needed items.

“Donations of food or personal care are welcome at any time by depositing them in a donation container outside the side entrance door of the church, which was built and placed by our local Girl Scout groups, or by contacting a pantry volunteer to leave a donation,” Strosnider said. “The donation box is checked regularly by several people. Any food or personal care items are welcome as long as they are not open containers or really outdated.”

Strosnider said that the Newfield community and beyond have always been very supportive of the food pantry, donating food or funds to purchase food via the Newfield Community Good Neighbor Fund (tinyurl.com/2eprc7tk).

“The school also supports in several ways, with some students and staff as volunteers,” Strosnider said. “The high school Student Council students bake pies at Thanksgiving and [the school] provides donations from both student groups and staff.”

The pantry relies on the Food Bank of the Southern Tier for the majority of its food purchases, but there has been an increase in the amount of food and personal care items purchased locally because some items are not always available from the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, according to Strosnider.

Volunteers often find a kindhearted message from pantry patrons who are grateful for the helping hand.

“People may not be aware that the pantry does carry personal care supplies as well as detergents and paper products — items that food stamps do not cover, but that are much appreciated by our families,” Strosnider said. “They often write messages of thanks and gratitude on the bottoms of their menu sheets.”

Strosnider predicts that the number of people who rely on the pantry will remain high for some time due to the rising cost of food, gas and housing.

Fortunately, local support and grants assist the pantry in keeping the shelves stocked, Strosnider said. The Newfield United Methodist Church generously provides storage space and utilities, handles the flow of deliveries, stocks shelves and regularly moves food on a schedule, she added.

“We are immensely grateful to the Newfield community and beyond for their support and encouragement to the pantry,” Strosnider said.

The Newfield Kitchen Cupboard is open on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 4 to 6 p.m. and is located at 227 Main St. in Newfield in the Newfield United Methodist Church parking lot. Questions can be directed to (607) 564-3555.

Newfield Notes appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.