Cora's Cupboard

Cora's Cupboard is a food pantry that is located in our church. It was established on June 14, 1987 as a parting gift to Cora Mayo, a much loved member upon her leaving the Cape for her home in Maine. Cora was a very active member of our congregation and was a principal in the Orleans school system for many years. Prior to her leaving, our outreach had been connected to the Love Pantry in Eastham, a forerunner of Lower Cape Outreach Council (LCOC) and HEED, an organization dedicated to serving the needy sponsered by the Church of the Holy Spirit. At that time anyone needing assistance was required to go to Eastham for help since no "central" cupboard was available in Orleans.

Church members bring canned and packaged goods to be stored in the pantry for those in need. We also keep envelopes in the pews for those wishing to give donations that will be used to purchase meats, chicken, cheese, margarine, etc. for the freezer. Cora's Cupboard is a place where LCOC clients can come for food and household necessities, many donated by our congregation. Located in a room on the church's second level, irt contains two large storage cabinets and a freezer. It is staffed five days a week by volunteer church members and serves over 20 clients a month. Food vouchers for local markets are also given out.

Our pantry is one of the pantries used by the Lower Cape Outreach Council, LCOC has a pantry in eight towns from Provincetown to Harwich. Our pantry serves those people in need in Orleans only. We have a Pantry Volunteer who is in charge and sees to it that the pantry is well stocked. If we run short on particular items, we use LCOC's main pantry to restock our shelves. There is a volunteer available Monday through Friday to help clients use the pantry and get the food they need.

If you would like to help in any way with the pantry or have any questions, please call the church office at 508-255-0622 and ask for the Pantry Volunteer.

Cora’s Cupboard Update: January through October 2010

We are thankful for:

• those who stocked our pantry from the LCOC pantry and picked up our monthly order in Harwich from the Greater Boston Food Bank.
• the one who stocked our freezer from the monthly allotment check we get from LCOC.
• the new person who came on board to replace one of our long-time volunteers and who now joins four other dedicated church members who volunteer a week-day at the pantry. 
• the members who volunteered at the last minute to help at our Mission Fair.
• the Sunday School and church family for filling bags for Thanksgiving for the third year.

This goes a long way to keep our shelves filled over the winter so we can continue our mission to help those in need.