Panther Packs Challenge: Help us keep our winning streak going!

      We are more than halfway through the 11th Panther Packs Challenge to provide 60 actual and virtual (monetary donation) bags of food. Shopping lists and donation envelopes are on the table in the back of the church and on the “example” table in the foyer.

       Each $10 donation will be equal to a virtual “bag” of kid-friendly food. Checks should be written to St. Paul’s with Panther Packs on the memo line. For those who want to donate actual bags of food there is an example table in the foyer with the items that the Panther Packs program needs the most. The total cost for the 3 bags of food on the example table was $29.27. For monetary donations, checks should be written to St. Paul’s with Panther Packs on the memo line. Monetary donations are used to make bulk food purchases and to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

      Food items that will best support the 2025 program include:

macaroni & cheese (boxes/cups)
16 oz cans ravioli with meat & Spaghetti O’s with meatballs
16 oz. jars of peanut butter
cold cereal: 8 oz – 12 oz boxes or individual servings
hot cereal: individual cups/boxes of individual packets
Chicken noodle or tomato soup; ramen noodles
Cracker packs/granola/breakfast bars/microwave popcorn
Canned tuna, fruit/applesauce cups, Jello/pudding cups, hot chocolate pouches

St. Paul’s has met or exceeded our goal every year; let’s see what we can do in 2025 - 60 bags of actual or virtual food!

Long term, ongoing projects:

Bloomsburg Food Cupboard; Helping Hands for the Area Agency on Aging, Bloomsburg Children’s Museum, Bloomsburg School District/Food Cupboard’s Panther Packs Program; noisy collection donations; Columbia County Christian Fair Ministry

Largest outreach missions:

Columbia County Christian Fair Ministry (CCCFM), a large, consortium-based organization whose focus is to meet the needs of itinerant fair workers at the annual Bloomsburg Fair.

 Food Cupboard’s Panther Packs Program, providing weekend food for children in weekly "backpacks" As of January 31st, we have met the 2023 Panther Pack Challenge.  So, what does a typical Panther Pack contain?  Scott and Jean Atherton, who not only deliver all of St. Paul’s weekly food donations to Bloomsburg Food Cupboard, but also volunteer as Panther Pack “pack-ers,” report that for a typical two-day weekend each student receives:

·       2 breakfasts (cereal, oatmeal, cereal bars, cocoa mix)

·       2 lunches (canned pasta, or soup, or peanut butter, or a box of macaroni and cheese)

·       2 snacks (granola bars, juice boxes, fruit cup, pudding/Jello cups, cookies or popcorn)

·       2 bagels provided by BFC

·       1 piece of fresh fruit (either apples or oranges)

·       When available:  tuna or Ramen noodles, baby carrots or celery with ranch dressing

For longer weekends (holidays, snow days, teacher-in-service), the packs include 8-11.5 ounce boxes of cereal instead of individual cups, and additional lunches and snacks.

The volunteers are currently packing 250 Panther Packs per week.  Although the Panther Pack Challenge ended on January 31st, we are asking that the congregation continues to include the kid-friendly food items that support the Panther Pack program in their BFC donations:

·       Eight to 12 ounce boxes of cold cereal or individual servings (larger boxes do not fit in Panther Pack bags), hot cereal in individual cups or boxes of individual packets

·       16 ounce cans of ravioli with meat, Spaghetti-O’s with meatballs, individual microwavable meals that don’t require refrigeration:  macaroni and cheese, ravioli, spaghetti with meatballs, and dry pasta

·       Soup (canned, dry, or individual servings)

·       Tuna, fruit cups, pudding cups, granola bars, breakfast bars, peanut butter, microwave popcorn

Monetary donations from St. Paul’s are used to purchase fresh fruit.  Checks should be written to St. Paul’s with Panther Packs on the memo line.  – Elaine Pongratz, Outreach Chair

Dessert schedule for our friends at Our Orangeville Manor  (OOM) is set through June. The residents are still not allowed to go out, so they greatly appreciate being remembered…and they LOVE the desserts! Store-bought items, including popcorn, salty snacks in individual bags, and Tasty-cake© products (especially peanut butter Tandy-cakes) as well as home-baked desserts, are welcome.

 If you have questions or concerns, contact Elaine Pongratz at mdmep@ptd.net. You can drop off the items anytime during your week.

          Guidelines for Delivering Baked Goods for Our Orangeville Manor (OOM)

·       Provide 40 servings

·       Use disposable bags or pans.

·       Even though we cannot go in, please wear a mask.

·       Directions to OOM from Bloomsburg: take 487 to Orangeville. Shortly after you get into the village, take the first left on Broad Street, then turn right on Mill St.
        Go .2 (2/10) of a mile and OOM will be on the right. It has an American flag, an awning out front, and a sign. Go past the building and turn into the parking lot on the left side of the building.

·       When you arrive, call Our Orangeville Manor 570-683-5951 and someone will come to the car to get the desserts.