With curbside service – and pre-filled bags – over, clients are happily back in the pantry, choosing their own favorite foods and flavors. Offering a client choice food pantry is important for some very important reasons. First and foremost, it affords all Circle of Concern families the dignity of making their own decisions about that most elemental thing – what is served on their own dinner tables.

Another huge benefit of client choice is that it means less waste of foods that people don’t enjoy. When clients choose foods they know they will eat, they, in essence, vote for those foods and against the things they don’t put in their carts. We pay attention to what is chosen and what isn’t, and that informs what we ask for from our donors and which fresh foods we purchase. Voting is participation! We are grateful for our clients who vote for what they want for their families, and we are grateful for YOU who make these choices possible!

Since reopening the food pantry, some food items are definitely favorites:

Popular foods right now:

• Beef items, chili, canned chicken, canned pasta
• Ready-to-eat soups, including cream of potato and chowder
• Tomato products
• Kid-friendly cereal
• Fresh fruits and vegetables

Foods we have an abundant stock of right now:

• Canned tuna
• O-shaped oat cereals
• Corn flakes
• Canned beans

COC October 2022 Enews

• • Votes are Counted!
  • Holiday Adoption Open
  • Program Snapshot: Scholarship

Coming soon to circleofconcern.org – visit our website often to catch our new pantry videos, featuring Circle’s own dietetics pros! Virginia, Becky and Pantry Director Michelle are producing quick videos about the food we share and the nutritional impact it has on our families. Heart-healthy options, the inner beauty of greens, the greatness of grains – it’s all here at Circle!

When you invest in the work of Circle, you invest in the health and well-being of your neighbors. Please consider donating today to help the work continue.

COC March 2022 Enews

• Our Clients Speak
• Return to the Course With Us!
• Veggies & Videos in the Pantry!

COC March 2022 Enews

• Our Clients Speak
• Return to the Course With Us!
• Veggies & Videos in the Pantry!

In late 2021, we asked our clients how they feel about Circle of Concern, our programs and their experiences here. In future months, we’ll share the abundant data the survey yielded. Today, though, we’d like to offer a snippet of what our families think about Circle.

• When asked about the fresh fruits and vegetables in his groceries, a 60-year-old man said, “You gave me okra last summer. I thought I really did not like okra before. I love okra now!”
• A mother of three school-age children reported that she prefers getting a gift card for summer food for her children, rather than a bag of kid-friendly food to bridge the gap in free or reduced-cost meals at school. “We have several life-threatening allergies so it is helpful for me to pick snacks my kids can eat.”
• When asked if he ever ate less because there wasn’t enough money for food, a senior responded “Yes…my wife has severe dementia and eats a lot because she forgets she has already eaten.”
• A single mom, referring to the same question about skipping meals because there wasn’t enough money for food, offered “When my children are at their father’s, I do not make dinner for myself.”
• Commenting on our Birthday Club, a young mother praised our volunteers, “Everyone is so nice! Especially Bobbie – Bobbie is a gift to everyone she meets. XOXO.”

COC March 2022 Enews

• Our Clients Speak
• Return to the Course With Us!
• Veggies & Videos in the Pantry!

Longtime Circle of Concern volunteers Boyd and Barbara Jones say their introduction to the organization’s vital work came when they attended a presentation by the organization’s former executive director more than 15 years ago.

Until that point, the St. Louis County couple didn’t realize how serious a problem food insecurity was in their community. Understanding the scope of the challenge sparked a determination to take action: Barbara began volunteering at Circle in 2008: now she works in reception and assists with data entry. Boyd signed up to help a year later; he’s currently a pantry shift captain and will serve as a case worker once the building opens again for pantry shopping and in-person meetings.

“The struggle faced by so many to feed their families continues to make a lasting impression,” Boyd said. “Circle’s approach seamlessly fits our personal philosophy and conviction. Barbara and I have always believed that no one, regardless of individual circumstances or causes, should go hungry in a nation with the resources available to the United States.”

Their years of service at Circle of Concern have strengthened the Joneses’ confidence in the organization’s value. “The staff is unfailingly supportive, consistent, encouraging and beautifully coordinated in its efforts to maximize Circle’s effectiveness in addressing our clients’ needs,” Boyd said. “We continually see first-hand the difference Circle makes in the lives of the hundreds of families who are our clients.”

From volunteering, it was a logical step to include Circle of Concern in the couple’s estate plans. Barbara said their choice to focus their resources on this organization was a strategic one.

“It is important to us to know that we can make significant contributions to a select few, mostly local institutions that can and do change lives around us for the better,” she said. “We believe Circle will be around for a long time, and want to do what we can to ensure that it will be.”

Boyd sees his and Barbara’s contributions to Circle as “our own little slice of immortality,” helping to shape the future of the organization after they are gone.

Even as they help prepare for Circle’s future, the Joneses keep their commitment to enhancing its presence through their volunteer work. “Circle is, simply, where we know we belong in pursuit of our desire to give back in appreciation of our good fortune.”

A favorite St. Louis experience—trivia night—seemed threatened in 2020 as large groups took a backseat to social distancing. We canceled our own scheduled Harvest Moon Trivia Night out of an abundance of caution.

Well, 2021 is a new year, and Circle will once again host Harvest Moon Trivia on Friday, September 17. This year, though, it’s VIRTUAL! That is, ZOOM technology will bring at-home teams together to compete in six rounds of challenging trivia. Circle staff has all played this way, and the consensus is – it’s still fun and you can play in jammies!

We know it will be a new experience to play online for many of our previous trivia players. Some things to know:

• Most of the fun at trivia night is gathering with your friends. You can still do that in the comfort of your own home. And you can even include and see trivia ringers from other parts of the world on your team;
• Scoring, questions, extra games, your table treats and more still are all part of the fun;
• We can help with technical questions and requirements before the event and during the night;
• Your registration still supports Circle’s food pantry and other programs.

Click here to register your team today or to sponsor the event.

COC August 2021 Enews

• MO Food Pantry Tax Credit Program Update
• Bike Show Benefiting Circle of Concern
• Harvest Moon trivia is going virtual

The Teamster Horsemen Motorcycle Association, Chapter 13 recently hosted a bike show benefiting Circle of Concern. The event, held at Gateway Harley Davidson, drew 25 competitors and hundreds of spectators – a wonderful turnout for this first-time event! Organizers offered great silent auction baskets and some attractive raffle prizes.

Members of the group visited Circle to present a $2,000 check in support of kids’ programs, like our Back to School event, which sends area children back to school with the supplies they need; and our Summer Opportunities program, which helps area kids to attend swim lessons, sports or music camps, and other enriching activities.

COC August 2021 Enews

• MO Food Pantry Tax Credit Program Update
• Bike Show Benefiting Circle of Concern
• Harvest Moon trivia is going virtual

Have you heard? Important update about the MO Food Pantry Tax Credit Program

In case the news has yet to reach you, a few important updates to the Missouri Food Pantry tax credit program were recently announced. For the first time, Missouri reached the $1.75 million state allocation of Food Pantry Tax Credits (for the 2020 tax year). That means that donors claimed more than $1.75 million in food pantry tax credits this spring. Per state statute, it also means that all claims for the credits will be apportioned equally among those who submitted a tax credit form and filed a valid claim. So, what does that mean for you?

The good news is that you can claim the remaining 10.1 percent of your anticipated tax credit by resubmitting your 2020 tax return – marked “Amended” – by April 15, 2022 to the Missouri Department of Revenue. It’s important to know that the final amount will be awarded from the 2021 pool of credits and that you will receive it next year at about this time.

More good news is that you can still take full advantage of the tax credit for donations made this year, submitting your claim as you normally would with your 2021 state tax return by April 15, 2022. Any residual credit owed to you from 2019 or 2020 will not reduce your claim for any 2021 giving.

We understand that this unusual situation was due to delayed 2019 tax filings – and unprecedented giving to Missouri pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in 2020. While we are grateful that so many donated so generously, we recognize that this situation creates an extra step for our donors, and we apologize for the inconvenience. While there is some chance that delayed 2020 filings could create this situation again next spring, we feel it is unlikely, as organizations like Circle are seeing a more “normal” year in terms of giving.

For more information about your tax credits, please call the Missouri Department of Revenue at 573.751.3220. Staff members there are very helpful and can quickly look up any details about your claim.

Thank you for your generous giving, and for putting the food pantry tax credit to work for our client families!

With warm regards,

The staff of Circle of Concern

COC August 2021 Enews

• MO Food Pantry Tax Credit Program Update
• Bike Show Benefiting Circle of Concern
• Harvest Moon trivia is going virtual

Save the date for Friday, June 18^th for a dine-out event at El Toluco benefiting Circle of Concern. Drop by El Toluco between 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., order delicious food, and Circle will receive 20% of the proceeds. It’s that easy. El Toluco Taqueria & Market at 14234 Manchester Road is one of the 100 Best Restaurants in St. Louis, according to local food writer, Ian Froeb. At Circle, it’s one of our favorites, too!

COC May 2021 Enews

• Over the moon… Harvest Moon Trivia Night
• A much needed helping hand
• Dine-out for Circle