Food Drive Helps Our Neighbors

by 
Roberta Balsam, UUH Outreach Program

SUGGESTED DONATIONS

Cereal, paper goods, beans, small serving-sized cans and shelf-stable items.

Consider this healthy foods list. Smaller size and low-sodium items are best.

  • Canned fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors. Look for fruit canned in its own juice or with “no sugar added.” 
  • Look for 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices.
  • Donate whole grains as often as you can. Look for 100 percent whole grain on the package or look for a whole grain as the first ingredient.
  • Canned beans, seafood and lean meats. Look for “no salt added,” low-sodium, and canned in water (instead of oil) varieties.
  • Donate shelf-stable healthy fats that are liquid at room temperature, including canola, olive and vegetable oils and non-stick cooking spray.
  • Spices and shelf-stable condiments.
  • Low-sodium and shelf-stable soups.

“Let the ‘giving spirit’ spread like a virus, infinitely touching the lives of people you may never meet, across boundaries you may never cross, in ways you may never imagine.” — Matt Hogan

This can be the power of the UUH Outreach Program’s annual holiday food drive. As a small nonprofit organization, we provide free services to adults 60 and over living in Northwest Philadelphia, and we have the opportunity to see firsthand the power of giving. 

Our food drive started in a modest way in 2005. We were encouraged to see how our small acts of delivering groceries during the holiday season could have such a large impact on the people we served. We took photos of the delighted people as we unpacked bags and brought some special goodies into homes where sometimes the very basics were hard to keep up with. Every year since then our food drive has expanded to include more people. We now have the wonderful support of neighborhood organizations, schools and community businesses that have agreed to collect food for us. Last year with the help of our partners and volunteers we were able to distribute 440 bags of groceries to older adults aging in place within our wonderful Northwest Philadelphia community. 

Please help us to continue to grow by making a generous donation to our food drive as you shop at the Co-op in Mt. Airy. Items will be collected at the store through Friday, Dec. 14.

Or why not make a cash donation directly to our organization? Every penny donated to us goes directly to our clients. If you would like to take your “giving spirit” a step further and volunteer to help us get the food sorted, packed and/or delivered, or if you know of a site that would be willing to collect for us please give us a call at 215-843-5881 or email outreach@uuhouse.org.

To learn more about UUH Outreach, visit www.uuhoutreach.org.