Who Should Come to a Food Bank?
You’ve just put in a hard week of work and picked up your paycheck.
Great, right?
But it seems like as soon as you get it, that paycheck is already earmarked for so many different things.
You’ve got to pay your rent, car insurance, gas, and maybe some medical bills that are still hanging around from a few weeks ago (and we all know how quickly those get sent to collections), and before you know it, you’re down to $42 in your bank account, and you haven’t even made a grocery list.
What should you do?
Come to Haven House before you make that grocery list.
This way, you’re still getting what you need, and you’re able to make that money stretch a little farther. You’re able to focus on the things that you’d actually like to get.
It’s a little room to breathe.
But you may be wondering:
Do I even qualify for food assistance?
This is one of the questions we hear all the time, and the answer is yes!
At Haven House, there are never any income, employment, assistance or housing requirements.
This means that as long as you live in our area of service (Hamilton and Corvallis), you qualify for food assistance.
It doesn’t matter if you are single and working full time, on a fixed income, staying on a friend’s couch at the moment, or have a family of six and recieve assistance from WIC or SNAP. Life happens and we are here for everyone who comes through our door, regardless of the situation.
We also know it can be a bit intimidating to come in for the first time, so here’s a brief overview of what to expect on your first visit:
Decide whether you’d like a Walk-in or a Box.
When you walk in the doors, you will probably hear:
“Hi! Are you here for a Box or a Walk-in?”
A Box is a monthly supplement of milk, eggs, meat, bread, and cupboard staples (peanut butter, tuna, canned veggies and fruit, soup, pasta) and whatever fresh veggies and fruit we have at the time. It should help get you through longer, and they are set items available every time you get your box.
A Walk-in is a weekly service where you can choose meat, bread and whatever fresh fruit, veggies, milk or other dairy items we have on hand. Just a note that our Walk-in inventory is donation based, so items may vary from day to day.
Be prepared to answer a few questions.
If you are getting a monthly box, you don’t need to bring in any paperwork with you, but you will be asked to fill out a one-time intake form so that we can plug you into our system to help make sure we get you everything you need. After that, we’ve got a few options to choose from when filling your box. This is your chance to let us know about any dietary restrictions and food allergies, and we will do our very best to accommodate with what we’ve currently got on hand.
And that’s it!
We are always glad to see you!
