BREAD office helps families all year
Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
Newcastle’s local food pantry, the BREAD office, is made up of volunteers who have been serving the community’s needs for a number of years.
BREAD is located on 627 Pine St., and it’s open from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday, according to Barb Crow, who volunteers during the holidays.
“It helps people right in our own community,” Crow said.
Families can pick up supplies from BREAD twice a week, and they’re given bread, eggs and a meat certificate, in addition to choosing canned goods of various kinds based on the size of the family. What doesn’t come from donations is usually purchased from the Food Bank of the Rockies. Once or twice a month, a food truck from Evansville comes.
“It surprises me how generous the community is,” said Ken Pitlick, who has volunteered at BREAD for four years and been in charge for two.
Crow said cash donations are also important, because BREAD can use the money to buy specific foods that are needed. Around the holidays, the food pantry usually has special items such as dried cranberries, canned pumpkin, spices, pie crust mixtures and the like.
Panera Bread Co. also distributes food by baking extra bread and giving it to food pantries.
“They give a huge, huge quantity,” Crow said. Someone has to pick it up in Rapid City, South Dakota, but the bread is donated free of charge. Crow deemed Panera an “unsung helper.”
The Flying V also donates meat left by hunters. Often, traveling hunters don’t take their meat home with them, so it’s given to the Flying V, whose owners in turn give it back to the community. Crow said it is good meat too, consisting of a variety, such as deer and antelope.
“I kind of look at it and drool,” Crow said.
Local real estate agents donated meat certificates, and Pitlick said their donation totaled around $1,500.
Pitlick said he appreciates the support from local businesses.
“It’s organizations like that that really help,” he said.
While the focus of BREAD is to feed the community, sometimes other items are also donated. According to Crow, people have donated “nice, lovely clothing,” stocking stuffers and even ornaments.
“There’s a lot of needs in the community,” Crow said. “Your donation does good.”