October Charity of the Month: Richmond Open Pantry
This month, as we celebrate our Harvest Festival, the gifts we donate will be used to help set up an Open Pantry in Richmond. This will be similar to the Open Pantry in the parish of Easby, Skeeby, Brompton and Bolton (ESBB) which we supported at our Harvest Festival last year and in 2024.
Richmond Open Pantry will involve the churches in Richmond working together in support of the wider community we all serve. It will complement both the ESBB Open Pantry and the StoreHouse foodbank managed by Influence Church. StoreHouse is open for people to call in for a food parcel on Thursday afternoons between 4 and 6pm and refers clients to the ESBB Open Pantry as and when appropriate. Local residents using an Open Pantry will therefore no longer need to travel beyond Richmond.
We will adopt the proven model established by ESBB, including the collection point layout, the discretion provided to clients by the normally quiet nature of the church buildings, and the possibility for vulnerable people to contact the Parish Office confidentially to request a food parcel. In offering the opportunity on any day of the week for anyone to collect or donate everyday essentials our ethos will also be the same: ‘If you don't have enough then you are welcome to come and receive; if you are fortunate to have enough then please give something, so that it may be shared.’
Unlike the ESBB model, however, we will not have distribution points in each church building. These will be confined to St Mary’s and the Methodist Church, with Influence Church, the Catholic Church and the Friends (Quakers) each setting up a donations point which will display a list of items currently needed. The Methodist Church will be open for items to be collected when the Welcome Hub is operating (Mondays and Fridays, 9:30-12:30). St Mary’s collection point will be located in the north porch and open 24/7.
In order to assess the level of demand alongside StoreHouse and the ESBB Open Pantry we will ‘start small,’ and progressively build up our offer if required.
Please note:
if you have kindly been donating food to StoreHouse your donations will continue to be gratefully received. Richmond Open Pantry is intended to complement the comprehensive support StoreHouse already offers our community.
Our Harvest Festival is on Sunday 4th October at 10am. If you would like to help us set up an Open Pantry in Richmond then please bring as your harvest gifts any of the following long-life food items or other essentials:
Tins (eg soup, meals in a can, meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, rice pudding)
Cereals in cartons or individual pots
Jars (eg sauces, preserves, honey)
Bottles (eg long-life milk or squash)
Soap, shampoo, roll-on deodorant
Toothpaste, toothbrushes
Detergent, fabric softener
Pet food (cans or packs of dried food)
Or a financial donation to help us build up and maintain our equipment and stock.
Please note we cannot accept the following items:
Fresh or perishable food
Aerosols
Medicines
Alcohol.
Throughout October when Richmond Open Pantry will be our Charity of the Month we will gratefully receive any further donations from the above list.
Any excess stock will be shared with StoreHouse or ESBB Open Pantry.
Thank you for your support.