The Help Center Inc. DBA: The Laura Miller George Help Center
409 Fairground St., Mexico, MO. 65265
573-581-3238
Our Mission: Serving families in need by providing food and support, while educating the community in collaboration with others who address solutions for these needs.
573-581-3238 Extension 12
Misconceptions about food pantry participants:
Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about people who utilize the services of food pantries is that they are just looking for a hand-out and come as often as possible to get all they can.
Our experience at The Laura Miller George Help Center food pantry is just the opposite.
The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri gathered aggregate information from the data that we provide to them from every food distribution and found that only 10.3% of our participants came 11 or 12 months of the year to our once monthly supplemental food distributions. 13.7% of our participants came to 8-10 of the possible 12 distributions, 18.2% participated 5-7 months of the year, 33.5% only came 2-4 times during the year, and finally, 24.3% of all our food pantry participants only came to a supplemental food distribution 1 time during the entire year!
So the facts bare out the truth, that people come to a food pantry only when they need food. I suppose there will always be a select few that abuse any system of assistance, but I ask you this, how do you actually know what is going on in someone else's life? Have you walked in their shoes, have you lived in their home, do you know everything they may be dealing with? The answer to that question is no, you and I do not know what another is dealing with and we have no right to judge them or prevent them from receiving a basic life sustaining necessity such as food!
If you would like to know more or you would like to be engaged in service to others, reach out to me by email executive.director@mexicohelpcenter.org, call me at 573-581-3238 Extension 12, or just drop by and visit with us and find out how you can serve others and find fulfilment in your life!
Providing supplemental food to our Senior Citizens
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program, better known as CSFP or Senior Boxes "This institution is an equal opportunity provider".
At The Laura Miller George Help Center food pantry we have seen the great disparity in the number of senior citizens who are recipients of the services we provide. There are potentially many reasons for this but we think perhaps one of the biggest is the lack of transportation. That’s why we’re so excited about our newest program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). Or more commonly know as the “Senior Box” program. We’re able to provide approximately $50.00 worth of food, (35lbs.) which is high in nutritional value, once per month and if needed, we can deliver it right to the door of our seniors, or you can pick up the monthly box at any of our food distributions. Eligibility for this program: you must be a resident of Audrain County, be 60 years of age or older and have a household income of 130% or less of the poverty level. If you or someone you know is living on a fixed income and needs food, give us a call and we’ll see if you qualify and if so you could be receiving a box very soon! In cooperation with the USDA. The MO. DHSS & The Food Bank for Central & Northeast MO. If you would like to volunteer to help with this great program, please see the volunteering tab on this website or call me at 573-581-3238, Extension 10 to find out how.
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