Piper’s Pantry – Striving for a hunger-free Colorado
by Patte Smith
Piper’s Pantry is a nonprofit organization, established by Tim and Eric Hannon, in honor of their two-year-old daughter, Piper. “We have been so blessed with Piper we wanted to share our good fortune with the community. A basic need is food, so we decided that is where we would put our efforts,” explains Tim.
Launched in November 2009, Piper’s Pantry started collecting non-perishable food donations for the Douglas/Elbert Task Force Food Bank. News about Piper’s Pantry spread by word-of-mouth and family members and friends placed boxes in their work places to collect food.
“We ended up filling up a van with food that we delivered to the food bank. People were incredibly generous and now we have to keep that going and pay it forward,” Tim emphasized.
Building awareness is another goal of Piper’s Panty. More than half of the people served by the food bank are children. “By increasing awareness of hunger issues we have a chance at helping to stamp out hunger. Many people aren’t qualified for government nutrition programs but still do not earn enough to make ends meet. They are welcome at the food bank and need to know that,” stated Tim.
March and April food drives are the current focus of Piper’s Pantry to keep the ball rolling and encourage donations throughout the year. Specific dates for spring food drives haven’t been determined yet, but will soon be available on the website.
Food and/or monetary donations for Piper’s Pantry can be taken to The Flower Shop at Castle Pines in Castle Pines North owned by Tim and his mother Sherry or online at www.piperspantry.org.
Tim notes that anyone can donate perishable items directly to the food bank. In the next few months the food bank will move to a new location at 1638 N. Park Street in Castle Rock. Contact information: DEtaskforce.org or 303-688-1114.
Eleven area Cost Cutters are teaming up with Piper’s Pantry to encourage their clients to donate. During March and April these Cost Cutters are offering $2 off a haircut if a client brings in a non-perishable item; five items and you receive $5 off of a hair color service. A list of participating Cost Cutters is available on www.piperspantry.org.
Stop by The Flower Shop with a donation and maybe you’ll be lucky enough to meet the energetic and precocious Piper. A blessing for Eric and Tim, but also for our community!
