Weekend Food Drive Sets A Record At Newtown Grocery Store

NEWTOWN, PA — Saturday’s food drive at McCaffrey’s Market set a record, wheeling in more than 20 carts brimming with food for the Wrightstown Food Cupboard.

Stationed outside the market over the weekend, members of the Newtown Rotary Club handed out fliers asking shoppers to donate food for those from the area needing a "hand up."

And once again, shoppers responded in a big way, filling shopping carts with bags brimming with donations of food, from boxes of Cheerios to cans of soup, canned meats and vegetables.

Many also reached into their pockets and wallets, donating close to $500 in cash to the pantry.

Rotarian Shari Donahue, the co-owner of the Zebra-Striped Whale who organizes two drives a year for the club, was thrilled with the response from shoppers.

“This has been an amazing day. We have the best volunteers, and people have been very generous,” said Donahue. “We have a record number of carts. It’s very heartwarming to see,” she said.

Rotarian Paul Salvatore credited Donahue for another successful drive. “I don’t know what we’d do without her,” he said.

Gazing around at the more than 20 carts brimming with food, he added, “The people who shop at this store are phenomenal. We give them a bag and a list, and they bring it back full of donations. The people who work and shop at this store are special. They give from their hearts.”

Rotarians deliver the donations to Mitch McIntire and the Wrightstown Food Cupboard. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

The donations collected at McCaffrey’s will be redistributed throughout the community by the Wrightstown Food Cupboard, a joint mission of Anchor Presbyterian, Penns Park United Methodist, St. Mark’s Orthodox Church, and Wrightstown Friends Meeting.

“This is fantastic,” said Mitch McIntire, who has run the cupboard for three decades. “The Rotary and the community always come through for us. The people in this area and the Council Rock community are fantastically generous. We’ve been doing this for 30 years, and we have never taken any government assistance.”

In addition to receiving donations through the Rotary, school, and community organizations, the cupboard is supported by local businesses, including Zook’s Fresh Poultry at the Newtown Farmers Market, which donates thousands of dollars worth of food to the cupboard every year.

For three decades, the food cupboard has operated out of the Penns Park United Methodist Church at 2394 Second Street Pike in Wrightstown, offering a helping hand to individuals and families who need a hand up.

The local cupboard receives no government funding, allowing it to redistribute food to whoever needs it without having to meet income guidelines or other eligibility requirements.

The food cupboard operates year-round, distributing food baskets at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and the Fourth of July. It is always in need of pasta sauce (jars), coffee, tea, juice, peanut butter and jelly in addition to personal products, including shampoo, toothpaste, Pampers, and paper towels.