Martha's Mission Cupboard is an emergency food pantry established to provide the needy citizens of Carteret County a temporary supply of nutritious and balanced food at no cost. Our goal is to tide them over during a temprary finacial crisis or while they are awaiting permanent assistance from the State or Federal Government. Martha's Mission Cupboard is a non-profit, tax exempt corporation, not affiliated with any church or religious organization. We have a 15 member Board of Directors and 50(mostly retired senior citizen volunteers) who assist in the distribution of food, the administrative work, and fund-raising activities. Our building at 901 Bay Street, Morehead City, has over 1500 sq. ft. of heated area. The building was constructed with donated labor and materials as a labor of love by caring individuals and businesses in Carteret County.
Martha's Mission provides food to an average of 300 to 350 families every month. Families in need of food are screened and referred to us by State or Federal social service agencies in Carteret County. The amount of food given to each family depends on the number of people in the family.
When the client arrives at Martha's Mission after being screened by the Dept. of Social Services he or she presents a referral form to the volunteer working at the desk. The volunteer at the desk reviews the referral form, and checks to see if and when the client was last here. Information from the referral form is recorded in a permanent register and the referral date is entered on a daily summary sheet. Based on the number of people in the family, packers bag the appropriate amount of food for the family.
Martha's mission operates strictly on donations of cash, food, or no-food items. Our budget runs between $85,000 and $90,000 each year. In addition, we receive a large quantity of food throughout the year from food drives by the Boy Scouts, schools, churches, individuals, the Post Office, and corporations. We estimate the value of these items to be $20,000 to $25,000. More than 95% of all cash donations we receive is spent on items that directly benefit the client.
Our biggest expense is the food we buy, either from a local supplier or from the North Carolina Food Bank. Our buyer keeps a tight control over the purchases and buys only from those who give us favorable prices.
Every recipient referred to us receives the following:
Cereal, canned fruit and vegetables, dried beans, rice, grits, saltines, peanut butter, jelly, powdered milk, cooking oil, eggs, margarine, orange juice, hot dogs, chicken, bread and rolls, soap, laundry detergent and toilet paper plus other extras that are donated to us.
A donation can be made by mailing to:
Martha's Mission Cupboard, Inc.
901 Bay Street
Post Office Box 603
Morehead City, NC 28557
(252) 726-1717