Helping Hands During the Holidays

A few days before Christmas, a family’s home caught fire in the Pascack Valley area. The fire started during the day when the mother and father were at work and all four of their children were in school. The family lost everything in their home and was forced to live in a motel during the holidays. Fortunately, the motel room had a kitchenette and they were able to cook their own meals for their large family of six.

The family came to Helping Hand Food Pantry for extra “helping hands” and we were able to provide them with plenty of food, along with ShopRite gift cards to help them buy perishable items. Shortly after the holidays, they were able to find a home to rent where they stayed until their home was rebuilt and they could move back in. Once again, our pantry helped them restock the kitchen with necessary food. Thank goodness the Helping Hand Food Pantry was able to help this family. This is only one of the families among the 400 that we serve monthly.

To ensure that families will have food on their tables this Thanksgiving, Helping Hand Food Pantry will be providing cooked chickens and small Thanksgiving Baskets to the many residents of the Hillsdale House, an apartment building specifically for senior citizens. Helping Hand Food Pantry will also be providing Thanksgiving Baskets, along with turkeys to local families in need. This Thanksgiving the food pantry will be helping several hundred people.

The Helping Hand Food Pantry (HHFP) is a cooperative ministry of the Hillsdale Christian Churches, united in the name of Jesus Christ, and supported by other volunteers in the community, who join their hearts, hands, time, energy and resources to provide food for those in need.

The original Helping Hand Food Pantry evolved from a need recognized in 1992 by a young Boy Scout, who took the initiative to organize a food drive for his Eagle Project. Seeing the need for continued food distribution, Hillsdale’s Public Health Nurse and Westwood’s Welfare and Social Service Director managed the operation for the following six years.

In 1998, the Hillsdale Clergy Association united the four Hillsdale churches to establish one ecumenically sponsored food pantry in Hillsdale.