Priceless

“Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.”
-Sherry Anderson

Here at Food for Fairview, we are well aware of the truth of this quote. Food for Fairview was founded on the principle of neighbor helping neighbor. Since our inception, we’ve functioned as an all-volunteer organization.

Running the pantry in this way certainly helps control costs and ensures we operate efficiently. Perhaps more important, however, it reinforces the idea that we are all in this together. What affects one of us in the community, affects us all. If our neighbor is hurting and hungry, then we all have an obligation to help.

We literally could not do what we do without our volunteers. Volunteers drive their personal vehicles to MANNA food bank to pick up our food from the MANNA warehouse each week. They stock our shelves, answer our phones and relay messages to the appropriate people, write reports, and provide each and every client with individual attention when they visit the pantry. We as a community owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to every past and current Food for Fairview volunteer and board member.

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To celebrate our volunteers, a volunteer appreciation picnic was held on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at the Fairview home of long-time Food for Fairview volunteers Ron and Roberta (Birdie) Hopewell. A great time was had by all. We played games, listened to music and had massages courtesy of Food for Fairview board member Dr. Ed Reilly of Fairview Chiropractic Center, who “loaned” us his massage therapist Petya Reyes for the event.

Last but certainly not least, there was lots of great food! We even took a moment to celebrate the graduation of Laura Tatlock, who came to us through the REACH Club at AC Reynolds High School. As of Saturday morning, Laura was officially an AC Reynolds alumna! We were thrilled she took time out of her schedule of celebratory events to spend some time with us.

We just can’t say it enough — we love our awesome volunteers! Thanks for all you do!
 

Courtesy of The Fairview Town Crier

[VIDEO] Why Food Drives Contribute To Hunger in America | Gary Oppenheimer

In this eye-opening talk, Gary Oppenheimer explains how donating food to your local food drive can actually contribute to the hunger problem! By donating money instead of food, you can leverage your donation by ten times.

Gary Oppenheimer is the founder of AmpleHarvest.org. He now makes his home in the mountains of northern New Jersey, after having lived on a boat on the Hudson River in Manhattan since 1978. He is also a Master Gardener, Rutgers Environmental Steward, former community garden director, Environmental Commissioner in northern New Jersey, an avid gardener, dancer and long distance cyclist.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Who We Are & How We Work

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Who We Are:

Food For Fairview is a local food pantry serving Fairview and the surrounding community. The all volunteer pantry was organized in 1999 and is located in the Fairview Community Center at 1357 E. Charlotte Hwy. We are open on Mondays, 3–6 pm. Food for Fairview believes in the power of our community working together
to meet the immediate needs of our local community members struggling with hunger. Our mission is accomplished through the generosity of others sharing our spirit and vision.

We work with like-minded individuals, companies, grass root organizations, churches, schools, colleges and scouting groups to help eliminate hunger in the Fairview community and the greater WNC surrounding area. Individuals, are encouraged to contact us if you feel you can contribute your time and efforts to assist
us in expanding our outreach. We depend on the support of people like you to help us accomplish this goal.

The Application Process:

If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance help is right here. The process is simple and completely confidential. Applicants complete a brief qualifying form that will be reviewed and verified by Food For Fairview. This form can be completed on our website at foodforfairview.org, downloaded as a PDF to print or picked up at the pantry. If you know of a person or family needing help, please let them know about our community pantry.

How It Works:

We are a “Client’s Choice” pantry, in which families receive individual attention from volunteers in selecting food and hygiene products. As clients walk
through the pantry, they are allowed to choose the vegetables (thanks to The Lord’s Acre), meat products, soups, baking items, pastas, etc. that their family
can use. This interaction with the families allows us to provide assistance in a compassionate manner to those members of our community who are experiencing
financial hardship.

How You Can Help:

Monetary donations allow us to purchase food at bulk savings. Please mail to Food for Fairview, PO Box 2077, Fairview, NC 28730.
Donations can also be made online here at our website.

Food donations of non-perishable, canned goods and staples in good condition within the expiration date, produce from local gardens, diapers, paper products, and hygiene items are appreciated.

Items can be dropped off when the Pantry is open or after hours at the Fairview Christian Fellowship church
(look for the yellow box, lower level of the church) or the Fairview Post Office (look for the red wagon).

Volunteers are needed to help at the Pantry and other tasks. Complete information and a volunteer application can be found from the navigation menu here at our website.