Numbers on the Rise

Numbers on the Rise

Happy Spring!

As I write this, it is a beautiful day in North Kingstown! All seems right with the world. Although things may appear right, we are digesting some of the latest statistics coming out regarding children in our community. The 2024 RI Kids Count Factbook, which gives a profile on the well-being of children in RI, came out recently. In North Kingstown, 21% of our children live in single parent households and 4% of our children live with grandparents. School personnel identified nearly 50 children in the NK school district who are homeless. It is estimated that 9.4% of NK children live below the poverty line.

At the Pantry, we are seeing more people who are calling us and in need of food. In April, we had 258 households use the services of the Pantry. This was our highest number of clients ever for one month. We see the need in North Kingstown growing. Please let your neighbors know we are here if they need help with food, produce, and toiletries. If you have extra food to give, we will graciously accept your food donation. If you wish to give a monetary donation, we will thank you and send you an acknowledgement. We thank all the supporters of the Pantry.

We want you to know that we are doing all that we can to follow our mission, which is to feed and help the hungry people of North Kingstown. Thank you for your support.

Peace, Kim Page, NK Food Pantry Board President

New Employee Spotlight
Kristin Jahne is our new NKFP Pantry Assistant. She is responsible for all volunteer coordination as well as recruiting, training, communicating, retention, and appreciation. She comes to us with over a decade of experience in a wide variety of fields, including marketing, farming, graphic design, analytics, construction, interior design, and management. Kristin graduated from Florida Atlantic University with degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship and recently completed her Master Gardener certification from URI. She also owns La Belle Peche coffee roasting and is opening Cafe Sospeso in Cranston. When she isn’t working at the pantry or running her business, you’ll find her in the garden or in her craft room working on her latest art project. She lives in North Kingstown with her husband Max and their 4 pet bunnies.

 

Kristin Jahne, new NKFP Pantry Assistant

Feeding and Assisting

On many Thursdays, during our regularly scheduled outdoor Produce Day program, we have informational tables for our clients to learn more about many of the health-related opportunities available to them. Pictured in this photo is Ryan Rocha from Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island. Ryan was able to listen to our clients questions and educate them on the different benefits that are offered. This table and those from the other various agencies and groups help us with our mission of both feeding and assisting those in need in the NK community.

Post Office Holds Stamp Out Hunger Drive

On Saturday, May 11th, our local postal workers participated in the national Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive day. A great day supporting a greater cause! Thanks to the hard work of our local postal workers and the generosity of those in the surrounding North Kingstown community, the NK Food Pantry was able to receive a food donation of over 3000 lbs.! This year’s food drive is helping fill our shelves during a challenging part of the year.

USPS hunger drive

Food Truck Themed Art Show

Harbor Creative Arts held a food drive to accompany their food truck themed art show. The special community event featured a display of 65 artworks made by children ages 4-13 and had 250 visitors who brought donations for taco night ingredients. The community donated over 300 pounds of food (filling an entire Jeep!) and collected nearly $700 in donations to support our Vacation Nutrition Program here at the NK Food Pantry.

Photo credit: Tom Walsh / OGM Photography