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Misconceptions about food pantry participants:

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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!

        The Laura Miller George Help Center                Food Pantry

We are an equal opportunity provider!

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Food insecurity is real and it exists in Audrain County. With your support and the support of the Food Bank For Central and Northeast Missouri,  the Laura Miller George Help Center is able to instill hope and a sense of security for families and individuals, knowing that they can have food on the table and not have to do without other basic necessities to do so. 

                            The Laura Miller George Help Center supplemental food distribution programs:                                    The Help Center provides supplemental food to families in need, people who are experiencing food insecurity. To be eligible for supplemental food, you must be a resident of

Audrain County and be in need of supplemental food.  

  •     Our main distribution of supplemental food is food provided to us by The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. To receive this food, you must have completed a Food Bank application, (which are available in our office, at the distribution, or on this website, and show photo identification at each distribution. You are eligible once per month for these distributions.                                                                                                                                                        Our hours of  supplemental food distribution:                                                        We will be open for distribution of supplemental  during the following hours each week at 409 Fairground:    Monday - 12:00pm-4:00pm                                                                                                                                                Wednesday – 9:00am-1:00pm                                                                                                                                               Friday – 2:00pm-5:30pm.                                                                                                                                                       We are closed most holidays.                                                                                                                                            We will ask for your identification so that we can find you in our computerized system. If you are not enrolled in our supplemental food distribution program, you can complete the application at the bottom of this page and send it to us or just stop by and pick up a paper application and complete it. Once you are in the system, you will be able to select the food you want, based on the size of your household and what is available. 

  •  Once a monthly distribution in Vandalia, MO. for anyone who lives on the eastern side of Audrain County. It is held on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 11:00am-2:00pm, located at 111 S. Main, The First Baptist Church in their multi-purpose building.  This is instead of coming to one of the distributions in Mexico.

To sign up for supplemental  food, please see the fillable application at the bottom of this section, or come to our facility or to any distribution to get a paper application, which can be completed onsite and you can receive food the same day, if needed. 

Each household is eligible to participate in our supplemental food distributions once per month, at any one of these distributions. 

                         New applicants are always welcome. All you need is your MO. picture ID and to complete                                        the Food Bank application.  FOR NEW APPLICATIONS YOU WILL NEED TO BRING A PEICE OF MAIL WITH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS ON IT TO YOUR FIRST VISIT.You can receive supplemental food the same day.

Your privacy is always respected and protected. We believe every single person has the right to dignity and respect and be able to have food.

​ Please make sure that your trunk or cargo area is empty.

 Please leave additional passengers at home.  That way you will have room for food.

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We also provide TEFAP (USDA) funded food and the eligibility for this food is that you meet the income guideline of 185% of the Federal Poverty guideline.

 

 2022 Nondiscrimination Statement:

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  1. mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

  2. fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

  3. email:
    program.intake@usda.gov

 

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

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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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