Clarksville Food Pantry

Volunteer Newsletter

August 2024

Lake Country Community Garden

Clarksville 2024

Providing Fresh Produce to

Our Neighbors in Need

The Lake Country Community Garden has donated more than 2000 pounds of fresh produce so far this summer.

Healthy Opportunities Pass (HOP) program is a collaboration between Virginia State Parks and the Virginia Federation of Food Banks. In an effort to remove barriers of entry for food insecure individuals to explore the outdoors, the Office of Community Engagement and Volunteerism annually mails out free parking passes to the major agencies of each of the 7 food banks across Virginia. These passes are valid at any Virginia State Park, and support our mission to expand access to the natural beauty of the Commonwealth. 

Here’s how it works: 

The Healthy Opportunity Passes (HOP) are meant for distribution once per month: 

• One parking pass (park entrance) per family per month (entrance is charged by the car) 
• Families visiting the park will give the parking pass to the gate attendant when they enter the park. 
• No reporting is needed from your agencies. Instead, park staff will keep track of the passes that are used to generate redemption numbers.

Important! Rules of the Program: 

Your agency will receive 200 parking passes to distribute to the families that you serve throughout the summer and remaining months of the year. Please provide ONE pass per family per month as best you can. The passes are numbered and documented so that any misuse can be tracked. In order to receive HOP passes, participants need to agree to follow the rules of the program as listed below. Failure to abide by the rules will result in removal from the program. 

1. The passes are only for eligible recipients of your assistance programs. Staff, volunteers, friends, and family may NOT be given parking passes. 
2. Parking passes may not be used in combination with other discounts or offers (e.g., group discount). 
3. Passes may not be sold or used in any fraudulent manner. 
4. Failure to follow these rules will exempt your organization from participation. 

Clarksville Community Thanksgiving Dinner 2024

t's that time again...time to begin our planning for the Community Thanksgiving Dinner, to be held on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. As everyone knows, planning is key to a successful event, as well as participation. With that in mind, a planning meeting has been scheduled for Saturday, September 14th at 9:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall at The Clarksville Baptist Church (CBC). Saturday mornings seemed to work well last year, so we're hoping so see a lot of familiar faces on 9/14.

The Transformative Impact of Child Volunteerism

We all play a vital role in shaping our children’s character and instilling values that will guide them throughout their lives. One powerful way to foster children’s empathy and leadership skills is through volunteerism. From school-based programs to local missions, children have many opportunities to give back and grow in our community. 

Volunteering exposes young individuals to diverse perspectives, broadens their horizons, and cultivates empathy and compassion. Children develop crucial leadership skills such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and decision-making by participating in meaningful service projects. These experiences lay the foundation for responsible citizenship and equip young leaders to navigate complex social issues with confidence and integrity.

Thank you Buffalo Baptist Church Youth Group for stuffing 500 bags of tooth brushes, tooth paste and mouthwash for the August non-food item of the month!!

August 7^th & August 10^th

Cherry Hill Baptist Church

August 14^th & August 17^th

Clarksville Lions Club

August 21^st & August 24^th

St Luke Baptist Church



August 28^th & August 31^st  

St Timothy’s Episcopal Church

September 4th & September 7th

Union Chapel Baptist Church

September 11^th & September 14th

Clarksville Presbyterian Church

September 18^th & September 21st

House of Prayer Church

September 25^th & September 28th 

Jamison Memorial Methodist Church

Backpack Buddies Starts the School Year August 23rd

Backpack Buddies was founded by Clarksville Presbyterian in 2013 and has grown into an ecumenical venture which now provides a bag of easily-prepared, non-perishable food to elementary students and middle school students at the end of each school week.

The bags are filled with nutritious food that is non-perishable. The average cost of the bag is $6.40 per child. A typical bag includes mac and cheese, canned or single serving veggies, soup, cereal, shelf milk, noodles, fruit,  and juice. They also include two snacks such as cheese crackers or cereal bars. The amount of food in each bag is enough for 2 days of weekend meals. Over 1100 bags are delivered to Clarksville Elementary a month. Now Backpack Buddies, realizing a real need at the middle school, has extended their services to include those children as well.

The kinds of bacteria that cause food poisoning do not affect the look, smell or taste of food. 

Fact: Some people believe that leftovers are safe to eat until they smell bad when in fact the kinds of bacterial that cause food poisoning don't always change the look, smell or even the taste of the food. To be safe, use the Safe Storage Times chart to make sure you know the right time to throw food out.



https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/cold-food-storage-charts

Corn Pudding

Corn Pudding is a traditional southern dish in which corn is baked in an egg, milk and butter mixture. You’ll find dozens and dozens of corn pudding recipes in cookbooks and on the Internet (including from Paula Deen, Ina Garten and Nigella Lawson, among others), some of which call for canned creamed corn and/or boxed cornbread mix. Not Nama’s recipe – which calls for only fresh ingredients.

https://www.seasonedkitchen.com/corn-pudding-recipe

Clarksville Food Pantry

Clarksville Community Center

103 Woodland Drive

Clarksville, VA 23927