Food pantry needs help

To the editor,

One in four people in the Upper Valley experience food insufficiency, especially during the winter months. Rising food prices bite into household budgets. For families already on the brink, such increases can be devastating. At the Upper Susitna Food Pantry, we serve supplemental food to about 170 households, which is approximately 320 people per month. In addition, we serve around 200 households with our Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets. We serve the communities of Talkeetna, Sunshine, Trapper Creek and the northern part of Willow. We have two distribution points: Sunshine and Trapper Creek.

Your financial donation will help us to purchase necessary food for the food pantry. We are currently able to purchase food from the Food Bank of Alaska in Anchorage for $0.20 per pound. That means a $300 donation can buy 1,500 pounds of food.

This year we received $2,500 in matching funds from the Jessica Stevens Community Foundation. Before we receive the $2,500, we must raise the matching amount from the community. There are three ways we can do this: Receive money from first-time individual donors; receive added money from returning donors; and businesses from the community can increase their contributions.

For more information, call 733-3358 or visit the Upper Susitna Food Pantry Facebook page.

Suzy Kellard, president

Upper Susitna

Food Pantry Board