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Hunger’s Heroes: Fishes and Loaves, Highlands Food Pantry
Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: 2021/11 – November
For Fishes and Loaves and Highlands Food Pantry, feeding the needy takes on an added urgency at this time of year.
Bonnie Dayton
The folks who run the food pantries on the Plateau take pride in what they have accomplished the past year, and their numbers prove it.
Larry Morris, Executive Director at Cashiers’ Fishes & Loaves, tells me that in 2020 they provided meals to 2,530 families, a cumulative total of 7,752 individuals.
Highlands Food Pantry Director Bonnie Dayton related that in September alone, they fed 314 families or 769 individuals.
And as winter arrives, and seasonal jobs disappear at local country clubs and in second homes, these numbers are forecast to rise.
On Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 6:30 P.M., those in need in Cashiers can receive a box of food stocked with about 20 items of nutritional value – rice, pasta, canned beans, canned tuna, juice, soup, canned vegetables, frozen proteins. Additional items are available for individual selection at the front of the pantry – including fresh produce, bread, and personal items.
The Highlands Food Pantry has recently expanded its hours and is now open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Set up much like a grocery store, individuals can shop for items displayed on shelves – canned goods, produce, bread, fresh meats, eggs, and milk. Customers are allowed a certain amount within each category but can select their own items.
Both faculties are planning their annual Thanksgiving boxes – offered to 185 families in Cashiers and 150 in Highlands. Boxes will be filled with traditional holiday fare including turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pie.
Other holiday events are ahead as well.
There will be a special Christmas dinner box for clients at the Cashiers Pantry.
Getting free food to needy people is labor-intensive as well, and the Highlands Food Pantry is seeking volunteers.
Those willing to donate time or contribute can contact Larry Morris at Fishes & Loaves in Cashiers at [email protected] or (828) 508-0378; and Bonnie Dayton at the Highlands Food Pantry at [email protected] or (828) 200-5524.
The Highlands Food Pantry is located at 315 Main Street, behind and below The Highlands United Methodist Church. You can visit them online at internationalfriendshipcenter.org/foodpantry.
Fishes & Loaves is located at 549 Franklin Allen Road. They can be reached at fishesandloavescashiers.org.
