The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries is an interfaith service that provides food and fellowship to those in need and educates our community on hunger and poverty.Wish List
Non-perishable food:
Cereal, juice, soup, peanut butter, tuna, canned fruit, canned corn, pasta, pasta sauce, oatmeal, white rice, dried beans, protein bars, breakfast items.
Non food:
Reusable grocery bags, rubber gloves, Ziploc bags, garbage bags, paper plates, napkins, forks, knives, spoons, hot/cold cups, toilet paper, paper towels.
$10 or $20 gift cards to local food markets are always welcome. SSKP prefers gift cards rather than turkeys! Thank you.
Contact Us:
The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries, PO Box 804, Essex, CT 06426
Telephone: 860-388-1988
Get Answers Fast:
You'll find the answers to most frequently asked quastions on our Q&A page. Directions to Meal and Food Pantry Sites.
Food Drives
You can use these flyers in your food drive:
Food Drive Flyer
Checklist for Food Drive Success
Getting Started on Your Food Drive
Share your interest in holding a food drive with a teacher or administrator at your school, your scout master, club president, clergy person, or family.- Find out if there are any restrictions for holding a food drive, and find out what support you can hope for.
- Contact SSKP at 860-388-1988 to let us know you are planning a food drive.
- Ask if we have a list of items that we need most.
- Pick the location and dates of the food drive.
- Set a goal for your food drive. How many pounds, or cans, or bags of food do you want to collect?
- Select a place where donations will be dropped off and the food can be kept.
- Provide collection boxes that are clearly marked for collecting food.
- After the drive, have volunteers deliver the food to the soup kitchens.
- Call ahead and let us know when you will be delivering the food.
Holding the Food Drive
Now that your food drive plans are set, it’s time to get creative. Here are some ideas you can use to ramp up participation
and bring in donations that will help your community be more prepared.
- Canned foods make great art! Host a competition for the best canned food sculpture. Create categories, such as funniest, scariest or biggest. Leave the sculptures on display.
- Make posters about the food drive and put them up in locations where people can see them.
- Pass out fliers with a list of nonperishable foods and other items people should donate.
- Get the word out through your school’s morning announcements, newsletters, e-mails or Web site.
- Make a poster or sign shaped like a can showing how many pounds of food you plan to gather. Color in the can to mark your progress in meeting your goal.
Coordinate your food drive with the Stamp Out Hunger campaign, organized each year by the U.S. Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers.
The campaign, online at www.helpstampouthunger.com, encourages Americans to leave food drive donations by their mailboxes for pick-up by mail carriers.
- Pass out food drive shopping lists to customers as they enter the store and let them know you’ll be there to accept their donations on the way out.
- Make sure you have signs that clearly denote who you are and what the food drive is for.
- Write a press release about the food drive and contact your local weekly or community newspaper. Ask them to help promote the food drive, or to come take a picture of the donations as they are delivered to the food bank.
Remember: We need help year-round. So start planning your food drive! Your community will thank you.
You can make a difference
Your donation will be used to provide food to those in need, we are a frugal organization, and we pledge to be good stewards of your donation. 89 cents of every dollar donated is used to support our pantries, meal sites, and heat-n-eat.
Donations can be mailed to PO Box 804 Essex CT 06426. We accept cash or checks. Checks are to made out to The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries.
Planning an event or drive on behalf of SSKP? We appreciate your support and want to help. Please contact us when planning your event so that we can better assist you. Call 860-388-1988 or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. prior to your event/drive. Thank you!
We utilize volunteers to provide our services—it is how we can provide almost 900,000 meals worth of food every year—their commitment makes our mission come alive.
Because we shop at 2 area food banks where food costs 5-12 cents a pound, and receive donations of food, every dollar donated can be leveraged to provide four meals, each meal served on average costs 32 cents.
Your donation makes a difference in the lives of those in need—know that you helped your neighbor in a tangible way. We are in existence because of those who support us, and we thank you for your generosity.
Here are some easy ways you can help to raise funds for the soup kitchens.
Food Donations
Previous Continuing Education
Preventing, Diffusing and Handling Emergencies
Listed below are some of the topics covered in a recent workshop held at Grace Episcopal Church in Old Saybrook.