“A Helping Hand for Placitas” — "Una Mano de Ayuda para Placitas”

Casa Rosa Food Pantry

Also see the separate website: www.casarosafoodpantry.org


Mission: Casa Rosa is an outreach of LPPC in alliance with the broader community of Placitas. Our mission is to provide food, services, and other life needs to empower the people of Placitas. Casa Rosa values people as they are; solicits participation of those who support our mission; respects the beliefs of others with no pressure to participate in LPPC; and encourages suggestions for meeting the needs of the Placitas community. Casa Rosa Food Pantry is an equal opportunity provider.

Donations (food, clothing, household goods) are welcome and can be put in the blue bins at LPPC or dropped off at Casa Rosa on Friday and Saturday mornings when volunteers are there. Please note that we cannot accept food that is more than a year beyond its Best-By or Expired-By Date. Also, we cannot accept electronics.
To serve our clients, Casa Rosa is always in need of the following:

  • Specific grocery items: canned fruit, canned meat, jelly or jam,
  • Specific hygiene items: hand soap, toothbrushes (for adults and children), toothpaste, and mouthwash.
  • Shopping aids: plastic grocery bags, brown paper grocery bags (from grocery stores—not shops), empty egg cartons (that hold 12 vs 18 eggs).
  • Men’s Clothes: casual—not office or dressy attire.
  • Pet Food: donations of bags of cat or dog food or designated funds to purchase pet food.

Location: Immediately east of Las Placitas Presbyterian Church (LPPC) at 640 Hwy 165 in the pink house. (Mailing address is Casa Rosa Food Pantry, P. O. Box 768, Placitas, NM 87043.) 


Hours: Food Pantry distribution is from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. every Saturday morning regardless of sun, rain, or snow (with the only exceptions being the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the Saturdays in those years when there is a conflict with Christmas and New Year’s Day).


History: Casa Rosa opened its doors on August 30, 2008, with eight families being served. The total number of households served in a year has ranged from 108 households (comprised of 175 adults and 61 children) to 161 households (comprised of 237 adults and 86 children).


Governance: While an outreach mission of LPPC, Casa Rosa has its own Board of Directors that determines strategic and operational policies and exercises independent responsibility for financial oversight.


Contacts:

Phone: Through the LPPC office at 867-5718

Email: Through www.casarosafoodpantry.org (Click on “ Contact Us” )

Can casa rosa help you?

Eligibility for Services: For the first visit and annual re-regstration, a potential client must bring proof of

Placitas residency (e.g., driver’s license, utility bill, phone bill) showing the individual’s name and Placitas address. There will be questions asked about personal information, including a self declaration of current income (for all adults to be registered in the same household). This information is needed to complete The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Form as well as Casa Rosa’s registration requirements.


Items and Services We Can Provide Include:

•Perishable and non-perishable foods: frozen meats, canned meats, fruits, vegetables, juices. Staples: flour, sugar, salt, cooking oil, beans, etc.

•Personal Care Items: toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, toilet and facial tissue, soap, lotion, etc.

•Pet Food and Supplies: dog and cat food and treats, cat litter, and various pet supplies and toys as available when donated.

•Additional Items: clothing, household goods (excluding electronics) and occasionally furniture and appliances --- thanks to generous donations from the community.


How can you help casa rosa?

Volunteering: Help is needed at Casa Rosa with various activities (as assigned by the Chair or by the Food Pantry Coordinator on duty):

•On Friday mornings (usually from about 8:00 to around 10:00) to unload the Roadrunner Food Bank truck and stock shelves, refrigerators, and freezers.

•On Saturday mornings from about 8:30 (when clients begin to register) through the distribution hours of 9:00 to 11:00.

•As needed to help with sorting and processing donated clothes and household goods.


Monetary Donations: Casa Rosa’s income is primarily dependent upon monetary donations from individuals, businesses, and groups. Checks are made payable to Casa Rosa Food Pantry and mailed to P.O. Box 768, Placitas, NM 87043. Monetary donations can also be made on line by credit card or bank account transfer by going to www.casarosafoodpantry.org, clicking on “About Us” and scrolling down to the “Donate Here” button. Through Casa Rosa’s participation as a partner agency with the Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico, Casa Rosa can order food, especially in bulk quantities, at reduced prices and can receive USDA commodities at no cost. Thus, every dollar donated to Casa Rosa enables the purchase of approximately $9 worth of food. Monetary donations also help Casa Rosa volunteers purchase at local stores other needed and preferred items not available through Roadrunner.


Clothing and Household Goods Donations: Donations of clothes (especially men’s clothes as well as coats, sweaters, gloves, etc., in the winter) and household goods in working order are greatly appreciated by the clients. Please note that Casa Rosa is unable to accept electronics. Donations can be dropped off at LPPC during office hours (9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Tu-F in summer and M-F the rest of the year) or at Casa Rosa when volunteers are there on Friday and Saturday mornings. If you have large furniture or working appliances to be disposed of, let us know, and we will find out if there are interested clients who have access to a vehicle to pick up the large items.


Supporting Fund-Raising Efforts: Your participation in collections sponsored by organizations or in other activities held to benefit Casa Rosa Food Pantry is greatly appreciated. Additionally, for those who shop online at Amazon, you can help Casa Rosa by signing up one time at http://smile.amazon.com and, where prompted, entering Las Placitas Presbyterian Church as the charitable organization. (Casa Rosa Food Pantry derives its tax-exempt status through LPPC as an outreach mission.) After that one-time selection, you only need to remember from then on to shop online through smile.amazon.com, where you will see at the top of the page “AmazonSmile Supporting: Las Placitas Presbyterian Church.” For all those who have selected LPPC as the charitable organization and who shop online at smile.amazon.com, the AmazonSmile Foundation will then deposit quarterly donations equivalent to 0.5% of these individuals’ total purchase costs directly into Casa Rosa’s independent checking account.

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much;

it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”   Franklin Roosevelt