Frequently Asked Questions
Shopping
Who can shop? Anyone in Henderson or Polk County who expresses a stated need for food assistance. The Pantry provides supplemental food assistance, meaning, we’re meant to fill the gap between the food you already have and what you may need to help supplement your groceries that week.
How do I become a shopper? We are open Tuesday & Thursday: 10am – 4pm; Saturday: 10am – 2pm. (Sorry. We are closed Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday.) Simply come by the Pantry to shop at our temporary location, 150 E. Main Street. We’ll ask you to complete a short form with your name, address, contact information and names and ages of all people in your household.
Volunteering
How do I become a volunteer? We’re always looking for new volunteers! To apply, come by the Pantry on a day we are open and complete a short application so that we can enter you in our database.
Please note that we are operating with less volunteers in our temporary location because it is a smaller space. Our Operations Manager, Diane Land, will have a roster available for you to sign up to volunteer. You must be at least 16 years old to volunteer at the Pantry.
What types of volunteer opportunities are there? We have several ways to volunteer at the Pantry. We are scheduling three people every two hours to assist shoppers and to restock the shelves. Other areas of volunteering include unloading delivery trucks, helping with fundraisers, and distributing winter clothing items from our Winter Closet (no dedicated room available at our temporary location but we do have winter items available).
Donating
How do I donate financially? We’re always grateful for monetary donations both large and small! There are a couple of ways to donate financially to the Saluda Pantry. Go to our Support page at our website www.saludapantry.com and securely contribute via PayPal, credit card, or Venmo. You can also come by the Pantry between 10am – 4pm on Tuesdays or Thursdays, or Saturdays from 10am – 2pm with a check or cash. And finally, you can mail a check to PO Box 428 Saluda, NC 28773. Thank you!
How do I donate food? We always welcome your food donations! We accept non-perishable food items and unopened hygiene products. Items of greatest need include canned soups, breakfast foods (such as cereal and oatmeal) and ground or instant coffee. Please bring donations to the Pantry on Tuesdays or Thursdays between 10am – 3pm. If that time is inconvenient, we can arrange a time to meet at the Pantry to accept your donations. If you’d like to organize a food drive for us through your church or other community organization we can help you promote the effort! Email us at saludapantry@gmail.com.
How do I donate winter clothing? Starting in October we gratefully accept coats, winter accessories and blankets to distribute to our shoppers in need of warm layers. Most needed are coats, hats, gloves, scarves and socks in both adult and children’s sizes. These items can be brought to the Pantry on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am – 3pm from October through March.
Please do not bring sweaters, pants or other items as we don’t have the space to store them.