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Weekly meals for neighbors in need in Oakland

Madeline runs a volunteer pantry feeding 170 families; this fund restocks shelves for the rainy season.

🇺🇸 Oakland, California, United States1,704 views
Madeline W. Edwards
Email verified
Oakland
Since 2020, our volunteer team has run Community Pantry every Monday from the back of the parish hall. We started with 26 families, and now we feed 170 each week. Donations have dropped by about 54% this rainy season, while the line has grown every single week. We rely on volunteers - 18 of us - and keep no salaries or overhead. I buy staples at wholesale prices at the Oakland market and keep every receipt. Each $25 feeds a family of four for a week. I'll post the weekly shopping receipts and a photo of the shelves each Sunday. Where the $1,650 goes: • Baby formula and diapers: $710 • Fresh vegetables and fruit: $810 • Refrigeration and electricity: $130 Whatever you can give, even just sharing this page, means a lot.

Updates from Madeline

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  • Raimundo Xavier 🇧🇷 · $50
  • Stepan Gleb Shevchenko 🇺🇦 · $50

    “You got this! - Kyiv”

  • Yewande Chiamaka Gbadamosi 🇳🇬 · $25
  • Kimberly J. Kelly 🇺🇸 · $25
  • Frank Wolff 🇩🇪 · $10
  • Nenita C. Rivera 🇵🇭 · $25
  • Danish Imran Ahmed 🇵🇰 · $5
  • Grayson W. Douglas 🇺🇸 · $5

    “Praying for you! - Anaheim”

  • Diya L. Sidhu 🇮🇳 · $10
  • Valentin Marc Bernard 🇫🇷 · $5
  • Rubina Tahmina Saha 🇧🇩 · $20

    “Hope things get better. Hope you get the rest soon. - Dhaka”

  • Asher M. Williams 🇺🇸 · $5
  • Antônia Camila Fonseca 🇧🇷 · $28

    “Best of luck. - Ribeirão Preto”

  • Genesis J. Thornton 🇺🇸 · $26
  • Natnael Endale Bekele 🇪🇹 · $5

    “Sending love. Saw your post and had to give. - Addis Ababa”

  • Roberto Davi Oliveira 🇧🇷 · $25
  • Monika Gabriele Winkler 🇩🇪 · $10
  • Adriana G. Rojas 🇲🇽 · $30

    “Keep your head up! - Tlaquepaque”

  • Bilal Faisal Orakzai 🇵🇰 · $10

    “From my family to yours. Saw your post and had to give. - Faisalabad”

  • Ahmed Kamran Kazmi 🇵🇰 · $75

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  • how is Madeline doing now?

    • praying for you, Madeline. Projects like this are what make a place worth living in. Don't give up. Blessings

      • rooting for you. Everyone deserves a bit of help sometimes. The breakdown of costs made it easy to trust. God bless.

        • Willem P. DlaminiPhoto verified

          Rooting for you. Your post was clear and honest. Read this on the bus and kept thinking about it all day. All the best

          • Sending good thoughts, Madeline. Projects like this are what make a place worth living in. Our whole street has been following this since the weekend. Thinking of Oakland

            • hope it all works out. Great idea, hope you get there. Greetings from Wollongong.

              • is there a list of costs somewhere? Just curious how it adds up for Madeline.

                • Baby formula and diapers is $710 of it. Everything else is listed in the story and nothing outside that list comes out of this page. Appreciate you taking the time.

              • Cristina K. PachecoPhoto verified

                Sending love, Madeline. Hope this works out for you. All the best.

                • sending good thoughts, Madeline. Hope the build day goes well, wish I lived closer

                  • Good luck, Madeline. Gave what I could, wish it was more.

                    • Rooting for you, Madeline. Hope this works out for you. Sent it to 8 people at work. God bless!

                      • Daiki Taro MiuraID verified

                        More neighborhoods should do this. Read this on the bus and kept thinking about it all day. Thinking of Oakland.

                        • Rooting for you, Madeline. Your post was clear and honest. My mother had a similar thing happen so this one hit home. All the best.

                          • your post was clear and honest. Don't lose heart. A few weeks ago I was in a hole too and it changed faster than I expected.

                            • Stay strong. Reading this made my day a bit heavier but I'm glad I did. I'm in nursing myself and wanted you to know we're cheering for you. Greetings from Quetta

                              • Hang in there. Reading this made my day a bit heavier but I'm glad I did. We lost years of savings to something like this so I get it. Take care!

                                • So sorry you're going through this, Madeline. It takes guts to ask. Well done. Please keep us posted. Take care

                                  • Praying for you. Shared this with my family. I told my book club about it and three of them are giving too. Love from Dwarka

                                    • Your post was clear and honest. Thinking of Oakland

                                      • wishing you the best, Madeline. This could happen to any of us. All the best

                                        $1,026.50 raised of $1,650

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