Food Purchases and Expenses:

• $82,538 in total pantry expense
• 89.5% of food was purchased from the Food Bank of CNY where our return on investment is more than $10.50 for every dollar spent
• 4.8% of food was purchased locally including 1,325 milk cards and 300 egg cards from Stewart’s, and 2,137 lbs. of fresh, local produce from local farmers
• 5.7% was donated by individuals and community food drives
• Administrative expenses were 2.4%
• Over 4,150 Volunteer hours were donated by friends and neighbors at the Rohde Center Food Pantry, Fresh Foods Distribution, Food Sense Food Co-op and all-volunteer board of directors

Meals: (USDA definition of a meal is that it must contain 4 of the 5 food groups)

• Over 219,357 lbs. of food were distributed through The Rohde Center Emergency Food Pantry including 9 meals per person (over 40 lbs. of food per person) given, free-of-charge, through our Fresh Foods Distribution Program every month to participating households
• 111,958 balanced meals were distributed through the Rohde Center Food Pantry and Fresh Foods Program, including 203 Christmas meals and 329 meals for school children through our Summer Lunch Bag program
• 5,872 personal care necessities were distributed. Items such as laundry detergent, pine cleaner, dish liquid, shampoo, disposable diapers, denture adhesive and cleaner, toothpaste and toilet paper were provided to households as needed

The Rohde Center Food Pantry has been providing emergency food to residents of southern Jefferson County since 1977. We are 100% reliant on grants and donations of time, money and product. Over 75% of our income comes from private individuals & organizations. The remaining 25% comes as grants from The Food Bank of CNY.  Every donation is an important part of The Power of A Dollar. As a member program of the Food Bank of CNY we can purchase over $10.50 worth of food for every $1 donated; sometimes even more. This is a powerful return on investment and the reason 89.5% of our food purchases come from this valuable resource. 4.8% of our food is purchased at local groceries and 5.7% is donated through food drives and individual food donations.

We are run by an all-volunteer board of directors and one part-time, paid Food Pantry Manager and a dedicated group of volunteers. 

We are open 4 days a week, including Tuesdays until 7 PM, to allow working families an opportunity to access the pantry on the way home from work. Phone numbers are posted for emergency assistance when we are not open.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Donating money is the most direct method of supporting the Rohde Center. When you donate to the Rohde Center, your gift makes a big impact - every dollar you donate can provide over $10.50 worth of food to families struggling with hunger. As southern Jefferson County’s major hunger-relief charity, our food pantry donors helped supply food for over 111,900 meals in 2017 and 2018 looks to be even more challenging for families, children and seniors.

Some suggested areas of support:

• Direct support by cash or check, or credit/debit on-line through PayPal at www.rohdecenter.org
• Legacy donations through estates and wills
• Sponsorship or support of a fund-raising event such as “Race for The Rohde,” a 5k and 10k race and 5k Family Fun Walk/Run on April 28th to raise funds to support The Rohde Center throughout the year
• Our annual The Power of a Dollar fundraising event held in November and December at Kinney’s in Adams