Hestia provides assistance

Once again, Good Neighbors has been awarded a generous grant from Hestia Women’s Giving Circle to provide feminine hygiene products to our clients. The mission of Hestia Women’s Giving Circle is to promote economic self-sufficiency and well being for women and girls.

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Hestia Grant provides feminine care products

Everyone needs food to survive. But feminine hygiene products are also a necessity that women need.  Those necessities are expensive, and women can’t go about their daily lives without them. “We don’t want anyone to have to choose between buying food and feminine care products, or stay home from a job, doctor’s appointment, or school because they lack these necessities,” said Joanne Park-Foley, a Good Neighbors Food Pantry volunteer. The pantry has received donations of products in the past, but hoped to offer more. Hestia Women’s Giving Circle has made that possible through a grant to the pantry. Feminine care products of all kinds are now given every week to women and girls who need them. The mission of Hestia […]

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Nutrition Guidelines

From our beginnings, Good Neighbors volunteers and board members have placed a high value on health and nutrition. Through our Nutrition Guidelines, we put these values in writing. The purpose of the guidelines is to support the overall health and wellbeing of those we serve, and to guide the pantry’s procurement of food. Click here for Guidelines.

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Good Neighbors Food Pantry celebrates its five-year anniversary!

Five years ago, on September 22, 2015, we opened our doors to our neighbors in need. We served 42 families that day, affirming the need we have in our area. In 2015, we couldn’t have predicted, or even dreamed, the situation we would face in 2020. But from the very beginning, Good Neighbors has been built on the generous support of the community and the dedication and hard work of our passionate volunteers. This put us in a good position to deal with the current challenges of the pandemic. With compassion for our neighbors who were and are struggling with additional burdens, and concern for their safety as well as the safety of our volunteers, we changed our whole system […]

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Good Neighbors continues to serve families in need

Good Neighbors is committed to do its part in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to serve those in need. We plan to do everything we can to continue to provide food for our neighbors in need. Over the last two weeks the pantry served 124 families. Instead of coming into the pantry, families receive a pre-assembled box of food, including fresh produce and frozen meat. Thanks to our generous community, we have been receiving donations and offers of help. Items currently most needed by the pantry are: packs of individual string cheese and other non-sweet snacks for children; tuna fish; soups; and shelf-stable milk. Items can be dropped off at the pantry on Mondays from noon to 3 […]

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COVID-19 Precautions and Strategies

In light of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 situation, we will be taking various precautions at the pantry, and implementing strategies to deal with this health crisis. We aren’t closing at this point: we will continue to give food to our shopper families, many of whom will be in even greater need than usual. We will, however, alter our procedures to help keep everyone safe. In an effort to promote “social distancing”, we will not be “open” as usual. Instead, we will be distributing pre-assembled food boxes to families directly to their vehicles. We have given our volunteers the following guidelines: If you aren’t feeling well, please stay home. If you’re just returning from spending time in a more affected area, or have […]

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The beginning of a new year: a good time to reflect

The volunteers of Good Neighbors Food Pantry wish all a Happy New Year as we look forward to continuing the work of feeding families in need. Thanks to generous support from our caring community, we are able to serve an average of 60 families per week. That represents an average of more than 200 people, including 72 children, who benefit from receiving food each week. Through our work, we have seen first hand that not all of our community members have been able to benefit from the economic recovery of recent years. According to a 2019 United Way report, 37 percent of Charlevoix County households have trouble covering all the basic necessities, like rent and utilities, transportation, medical care, and […]

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2019 in pictures

The Monday crew     The gardens Volunteers!   Turkey Fundraiser   Lexamar’s food drive gets delivered   Eddie Essay Christmas bags lined up and ready to go Our new aprons, in loving memory of Marilyn Rhadigan

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Eddie Essay winner!

Thanks to Maricka Drennan, the pantry received $100 from the Boyne City Kiwanis Club’s Eddie Essay Contest! Maricka chose to write about Good Neighbors Food Pantry. The awards ceremony and breakfast was Dec. 5. Pictured below is Maricka with her award plaque, along with Good Neighbors board members Kathy Anderson and Susan Conklin. Click here to read the essay.  

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Cooking Classes were a success!

Our cooking classes last fall were a big success! We received a grant from the Hestia Women’s Giving Circle to hold two One-Pot Skillet Meal classes. Judi Marlin, nutritionist with the Health Department, offered key points on nutrition and how to incorporate more vegetables in family meals, demonstrated knife skills, and prepared “Hash in the Pan.” Participants sampled the hash and prepared the ingredients to take home. They also each took home an electric skillet, a knife set, measuring cups, utensils, a refrigerator thermometer, and a notebook with recipes and information about cooking and nutrition. Feedback from participants was very positive!         We also hosted two additional cooking classes offered by The Manna Food Project: a crock […]

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