donate

There are many ways to help those with food insecurity

Make a donation by:

  • Visiting the Food Pantry during business hours.

  • Giving during special collections such as the Rotary Holiday Basket.

  • Placing donations in specially marked donation jars placed in commercial establishments throughout the area.

  • Sending a check to the LIFE Ministries Food Pantry at P.O. Box 476, Wolfeboro Falls, NH 03896.

  • Donate online by clicking the button below. PLEASE NOTE: Donations made via PayPal are subject to fees of approximately 1.9% of the total donation deducted by PayPal.

 

Monetary donations allow the Pantry to purchase food at a discount from the NH Food Bank in Manchester.

However, we do accept donations of unexpired, unopened food. The Pantry is not staffed full-time, so our office hours are limited. We are open for distribution on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM; generally staffed for deliveries on the first and third Tuesday mornings of each month; and at irregular hours during other times. Donations can be dropped off during our open hours, or if those times are inconvenient, please call us at (603) 569-0202 or email us at lifeministriesfoodpantry@gmail.com and we will arrange a time. Please consider the guidance provided below when donating food.

 

 Eight Tips for donating to food banks and pantries

The United States has an abundant food supply, yet many people lack access to healthy and safe food.  Some people in this situation rely on food assistance programs such as food pantries.  Food pantries can be a vital source of wholesome food for families and individuals.

Donations of food by local farms, food retailers and consumers to food pantries help provide food to hungry people and can reduce food waste.  Although the need is great throughout the year, fall is usually the season when people donate to food pantries through food drives in anticipation of Thanksgiving. 

The following guidelines can help you decide what to donate to a food drive or pantry:

Consider a cash donation. Cash is useful to food banks and food pantries as they can generally buy quantities of food for less.  They can also buy the items most needed by their clients.

It is important that donated food be safe and nutritious as possible rather than just what is in the back of your cupboard.  In other words, don’t just “clean out your pantry” and donate food that you don’t want or can’t use anymore unless it meets specific guidelines.  

Purchase food specifically for the food drive.  Think about what foods other families like yours might like to eat.  Also keep in mind that food pantry and food bank recipients range in age from infants to elderly residents. 

Donate retail-sized food containers.  In other words, the size of the items you’d pick up at your local grocery store for yourself or family.

Donate food that is in its original package with the label intact- unopened and not damaged.

Do not donate food that is past its “best buy,” “use by,” or “sell by” date.  Although some food is still safe to consume after these dates, it is best practice not to donate them.

If canned food has a sharp dent, a dent deep enough to rest a finger in, severe rust pits, swollen or bulging ends or any evidence of leaking, the food is unsafe and should be discarded and not donated.  Canned vegetables and meats with any size dent should be thrown away.

Because of the risk of botulism in improperly home-canned food and the large variation in the level of safety of home methods used by home canners, food banks and food pantries do not accept any home-canned goods.

Whatever you choose to donate, do it with compassion for your neighbors. Remember, you can make a difference in someone’s life by donating food or money to a local food pantry.

This article was written by Ann Hamilton, a food safety specialist with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.  Her email is ann.hamilton@unh.edu.

 
 
 

Our Reach in 2023

L.I.F.E. Ministries distributed 241,388 meals in 2023. In 2022 we distributed 153,951 meals. This represents an increase of 57%.

The average cost of a meal to the food pantry is 90 cents due to the large amount of free and low cost food obtained from the NH Food Bank and USDA.

We served families in 27 towns. Seven percent of our clients are homeless or unknown domiciles.

We distributed 195 turkey dinners this year at Thanksgiving.