Jill Cataldo

to Jill and everyone who have contributed on this blog and pass on their inserts to me to work with. We had our annual family get-together at the Crystal Ice House for the Yellow Jackets hockey team. Our organization pays special attention to community service which at this event was contributing to the area food pantries. Having six weeks notice my challenge was to see how much I could purchase with $100 our of pocket (I actually went over budget $2 and not including taxes). Most of the items were purchased at Jewel, Dominicks (actually half of this stuff was), Walgreens and Meijers. So here is the list all of you helped me purchase:

44 boxes of cereal
2 boxes of installment oatmeal
8 canisters of oatmeal
14 boxes of Ritz/Triscuits/Wheat Thins
10 water crackers (organic)
4 boxes of honey graham crackers
20 boxes animal crackers
14 2 lb. boxes rice
4 boxes of instant potatoes
12 boxes of rice-a-roni
20 pkg of knorr side dishes
20 boxes of mac & cheese
6 boxes of pancake mixes
9 bottles of syrup
21 cans of tuna
12 cans of Rotel diced tomatoes
8 cans hunts diced tomatoes (Conagra deal came too late for me on this one)
8 pkg taco mix
24 bottles of salad dressing
10 manchuri ramen noodles
28 cans soup
7 Purevia sweetners
12 boxes of brownie mixes
6 boxes of microwave popcorn
16 boxes of jello and pudding
12 pkg cookie mixes
14 bottles of suave shampoo/conditioners
24 bottles of various shampoos/body washes
15 deodorants
10 dental floss
8 toothpaste
8 bottles of Purex laundry detergent

People were just in awe with the fact most of the stuff was named brand and not passed its expiration
date. Some asked question and I just referred them to this site. It was fun and I would have done more
but we ran out of room in the basement with the stuff I already had for our own family. While they appreciate
contributions at the pantry, they actually need money so they can make large purchaes of meat and dairy along
with maintenance of the fridges and freezers. Thanks again to all of you for making it possible.