First Unitarian’s Food Pantry hands out sacks of food to anyone in need every Wednesday afternoon from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm.
Volunteers at our drive-thru (or walk-thru) food pantry.
The parking lot where the food is distributed is across Comanche from KOAT TV station. Anyone who walks up or drives up is given a sack of food for themselves and pet food if they have a pet. You will be asked your name and phone number in case of a food recall, but there is no bureaucracy, no eligibility determination, etc. No humiliation, just kindness and a little bit of help.
Would you like to donate?
- The food must not be past the Best Buy dates, especially baby food or acidic food.
- The containers should be 15-ounce cans or jars or medium sized boxes of cookies or cereal. Large jars of food are appropriate for a pantry that cooks meals, but not for a pantry like ours that gives out sacks of food.
- Raw beans and rice should be in one-pound bags. Roadrunner Food Bank will not allow the food pantry to repackage food if we want to purchase food from them, and we definitely want to continue to do that.
- Avoid giving the pantry exotic food. You may like artichoke hearts, green chili, sauerkraut, and ketchup, but think more about giving food that would make a meal such as canned beans, canned soup, canned vegetables and fruit, a jar of peanut butter, or a can of tuna.
- Don’t clean out your pantry thinking that needy people will eat anything if they are really hungry. We don’t have that attitude toward our clients.
- Know that we put fresh produce, a pound of frozen meat, and a package of bread in the sacks of food every week, so your non-perishable food donation will accompany some perishable, healthy food.
If you would like to donate money to the pantry, you can donate right here on our website and mark “Food Pantry” as the donation. Or, you can send a check made out to First Unitarian with “Food Pantry” on the memo line. Our mailing address is:
First Unitarian Church
3701 Carlisle Blvd NE
Albuquerque, 87110
