When considering what to donate, think "complete meals."  For example, pair up spaghetti sauce with the pasta, peanut butter with the jelly, non-fat dry milk and sugar with the cereal.  Personal care products and household cleaning agents are also needed -- pet foods and kitty litter, too.  

Food donations should be unopened and not past their "use by" dates.  If the dates have come and gone, then the food may not be safe to eat.  

Please make a monetary donation if you do not have time to shop.  It's tax deductible, and none is used for "administrative costs."   Checks can be written to United Methodist Men and mailed to Hatteras Island Food Pantry, PO Box 1591, Buxton, NC 27920.  

The following are this year's collection points -- at least one per Hatteras Island village -- where food can be dropped off:

1. Hatteras Realty in Hatteras village and Avon (Daily 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

2. Our Lady of the Seas Catholic Parish in Buxton (24-hr. drop-off box on porch of social hall)

3. Frisco Shopping Center in Frisco (Daily 6 a.m. - 9 p.m.)

4. Outer Beaches Realty in Hatteras village, Avon, and Waves (Daily 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

5. Surf-or-Sound Realty in Avon (Daily 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 a.m.)

6. Red & White Grocery in Hatteras Village (Daily 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.)

7. Midgett Realty in Hatteras, Avon, and Rodanthe (Daily 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

The food drive runs until Dec. 31.

If you have questions or would like more information about on-going needs of the Hatteras Island Food Pantry, please contact food drive organizer, Linda Browning, at (252) 995-3662. 

Editor's note: Ocracoke doesn't have its own food pantry; our residents are referred to the Hatteras Island Food Pantry as needed.