Grocery stores and shopping centers aren’t the only places seeing heavy traffic this time of year.
Rhinelander Food Pantry Executive Director Guy Hansen says demand goes up during the holidays.
“Our business increases – we have a lot of people that come in, when they wouldn’t come in other times of the year, because they’re preparing for holidays, company and so on. And money’s always a little short at this time of the year.”
Hansen says there’s also a lot of demand for coupons for turkeys and hams that people can take to the grocery store. The Rhinelander food pantry says though canned food is appreciated…monetary donations go further.
“Because we make use of Feeding America and other programs, and we have a pantry manager who is a very shrewd shopper. So we can obtain food often at half or a third of the price that a person shopping at the grocery store could.”
The Rhinelander food pantry is also looking for more volunteers to staff its three-day-a-week operation…unloading trucks of food and doing home deliveries.
The food pantry is planning to move into a larger building next spring.
