November 1, 2022

Coming Together for Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Meal Distributions

With Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays just around the corner, the Holly Springs community and local businesses are partnering with the Holly Springs Food Cupboard in preparation for holiday meal distributions. Check out what's happening and ways you can get involved, below!

Holiday Student Bag Drive

Help ensure students enjoy kid-friendly foods and snacks while school is out for the holidays by participating in the Holiday Student Bag Drive during November and December! Collect items into a reusable grocery bag to donate to the Cupboard. Drop off donations Mondays, 9-11 a.m. (preferred time) or Thursdays, noon-5 p.m.

As part of the Thanksgiving meal package distributions, gift cards for clients to purchase turkeys are being provided, thanks to significant contributions from companies working to build the FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies site. Donors include:

• Jacobs
• Advance TEC LLC
• DH Griffin
• Graycor
• JE DUNN
• Paul Mueller Company
• Roberts Company
• Ultra Pure Systems Puerto Rico
• Southern Industrial
• Turnkey Modular Systems

Christmas

Consider brightening the holiday for a local household in need.

From mid-November through mid-December, collect an item a day to donate to the Holly Springs Food Cupboard in time for the winter holidays. 

Friday, Nov. 11, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

The Club at 12 Oaks

Join the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to benefit the Holly Springs Food Cupboard and embark on an elegant evening of fine wine, local craft beers, decadent hors d’oeuvres, and desserts with an alluring live auction featuring auctioneer Buck Lattimore. This year's event will be held at The Club at 12 Oaks!

Many thanks to the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce!

Visit Bombshell Beer at 120 Quantum Street in Holly Springs this Friday, Nov. 4! 15% of pint sales from 6-10 p.m. will be donated to the Cupboard! Donate 5 food items or $15 and receive a free Hops and Cans T-Shirt.

Thanks to Bombshell and event co-sponsors Grow Local Realty and Revolution Mortgage Loan Officer Diane Kinlaw that will have prize giveaways at 8 p.m. 

Live music 7-10 p.m.: Mike Santos & Kevin Wing

Food Truck 5-9 p.m.: Portable Portuguy

Save the date for a fun and festive open house and food drive at Bless Your Heart Boutique in downtown Holly Springs!

The boutique also is planning a Give Back Day for the Food Cupboard on Nov. 3 when a check from a portion of in-store sales will be donated to the Cupboard! Thank you so much, Bless Your Heart Boutique! 

Need a holiday photo? Suburban Living magazine is teaming up with VMA Studios for a donation-only based photo shoot at Pleasant Acres Nursery in Holly Springs. Proceeds will go to the Cupboard! Drop by Sunday, Nov. 20, 1-4 p.m. (Rain date Dec. 4.) 

Welcome to the Board, Leigh Brantley!

In October, Leigh Brantley joined the Holly Springs Food Cupboard Board of Directors as Marketing Director! Leigh is a longtime Food Cupboard volunteer.

Around the Cupboard in October

An apple a day… North Carolina apples at the Cupboard and homemade applesauce for our healthy foods tasting!

Skyler’s family donated food and grocery gift cards in her memory.

Before the first delivery from the 12 Oaks food drive, shelves were looking very bare; trying to keep up with an increasing number of households is a challenge. We are so grateful for the 12 Oaks food drive.

Many thanks to Ben H and his Eagle Scout Project. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Check out these donations that came in from the Jacobs FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies construction site this month, making for a very happy Halloween! Thank you so much to Jacobs for the continued donations!

Garden Update

Interested in volunteering in the Holly Springs Food Cupboard garden? Consider dropping by Saturdays between 9-11 a.m. and stay as long as you like. All ages are welcome, and we try to find fun tasks for younger children. Bring gloves and a drink; no need to bring any tools. Interested? Feel free to contact Food Cupboard Garden Director Jerry DeWitt at organicman123@yahoo.com to be added to the volunteer list.

October Garden Activity

So many seeds! Thanks to our friends at Fairview Garden Center in Raleigh and Cindy, 118 seed packets plus onion sets and garlic were donated for Holly Springs Food Cupboard winter & spring gardens!

Many thanks to Alex and his Eagle Scout project, constructing 6 accessible raised beds. We will be putting in spinach, lettuce & turnips to overwinter.

Many thanks to the CSL Seqirus team that volunteered at the Holly Springs Food Cupboard! Volunteers installed a curved sidewalk behind the shed; power washed picnic tables, the bridge, and the greenhouse; weeded beds; constructed a blackberry trellis; added compost to the apple trees; and more! Thank you, CSL Seqirus!

Many thanks to ACE Hardware, longtime supporters of the Holly Springs Food Cupboard. ACE Hardware donated 96 cabbage, collard, and heirloom kale plants for our garden. Thank you!

Thanks to Chris, Pete and Doug from Mr. Fix It for installing the HVAC unit donated by Lowes of Holly Springs.

An energetic group of Food Cupboard garden volunteers enjoyed the cool Fall temperatures and transplanted a big bunch of collards, kale, onions & cabbage for the Winter harvest. Thank you!

Young ladies from Troop 2019 in Holly Springs volunteered in the Food Cupboard pollinator and herb gardens. Thank you!

Fresh greens are growing in our Food Cupboard gardens, thanks to our many wonderful and innovative volunteers! Check out the amazing hydroponic oak leaf lettuce growth in just 4-5 weeks! And collards are growing strong, too!

Thank you to West Wake Young Mens Service Group that put in transplants, planted seeds, weeded, and added soil and wood chips to the garden.

Thanks to the Homeschoolers of Holly Springs who spent a morning working in our gardens transplanting, starting seeds, watering & weeding.

Do you need food assistance? Know someone who does?

Please visit us. The Holly Springs Food Cupboard is here to help. Drive through food distribution is every Thursday, 2-5 p.m. Shopping food distribution by appointment only is every Monday, 1-4 p.m. Deliveries are available to persons with compromised health or without transportation. Click here for more information or to sign up for an appointment to shop in person.

How to Get Food to the Cupboard

The Cupboard can receive donated food on:

• Preferred hours: Mondays 9-11 a.m.
• Also: Thursdays noon-5 p.m.

Place donations on our delivery dock on the side of our facility and ring the doorbell for assistance. Or, give us a call and we can meet you to pick up food from your neighborhood.

If you have food that you want to deliver at other times, you can take it to one of our community drop-off sites listed below. If necessary, we can arrange a time for a pick-up. Please do not leave food outside the Cupboard.

Community Drop-Off Sites

• Bless Your Heart Boutique, 242 S. Main Street, Ste. 106
• The Block on Main, Corner of Main Street and Rogers Street
• Coastal Credit Union, Village Walk Drive
• First Flight Federal Credit Union, Village Walk Drive
• Holly Springs Farmers Market, West Ballentine Street
• Holly Springs Town Hall, Main Street
• Keller Williams Legacy, 201 W. Center Street 
• Pet Mania, Sunset Lake Road
• Sunrise United Methodist Church, 5420 Sunset Lake Road
• Sweet Berry Bowls, 150 W Holly Springs Road
• Wake FC, Ting Park