Homer Alaska - Letters

With the holidays, the generosity of our community only becomes more apparent and real to us at the Homer Community Food Pantry. We want to thank everyone for their generous and faithful support this past holiday season. Teaming with Kachemak Lions and Share the Spirit again this year was a blessing. Working together is a beautiful thing. Just a reminder: We are on the Pick. Click. Give. list this year.

The USCGC Hickory Halloween food drive started off a number of other food drives too numerous to report. To mention a few: Redden Marine, Glacierview Youth Group, Homer Elementary School, Kim Faust's students at KPC, Stay Tan and Snomads.

Other donors are Alaska-USA Credit Union's Cash for Cans, Safeway's $10 food bags, Subway, HEA, McNeil Canyon Meats processed a pig donated by the Mitchels in Anchor Point, Rick Sweening stored our turkeys for Christmas and Chris Story picked up turkeys at Thanksgiving. The churches who faithfully donate food and dollars are Catholic Women's Guild, Homer United Methodist Church, Christian Community Church, St. Augustine Episcopal, All Saints of America and Church on the Rock. We are pleased that Smokey Bay Air has joined Homer Air in helping to fly client food boxes across the bay at no charge.

Local donors recently created a Community Chest Fund administered through the Homer Foundation that will be dispersed by the Food Pantry. This resource comes at a very good time when our major federal grant has ceased to be available. The main thrust of the Community Chest Fund is to support families with children in times of need. The pantry will serve as the bridge connecting those in need with those who have given so generously. Thanks to the Homer Foundation for their oversight. "Every dime and every dollar" given to the pantry directly benefits those in need in the Homer area.

Our quilt raffle winner was Shirley Fedora, who works with many service organizations in Homer and volunteers at the pantry. We are pleased that she has won the beautiful quilt that Bonnie Morawitz created.

Many thanks to those of you who bring in food each Monday. Whether it's from cleaning cupboards, the bounty from your garden, garage sale items or purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables like Mr. Potato Man we are most grateful. Remember, we will take opened food, clothing or anything really. We do need water bottles, small jars and 8-16 ounce tubs.

Our "all volunteer army" at the pantry is grateful to our generous community. Homer is a community of "helpers." When we give to others, we strengthen and weave together the broken places in our community. Thanks, Homer for helping us to succeed.

Diana Jeska and the board

of the Homer Community Food Pantry