HAND TO HAND, INC.

11/02/2025

The Hand to Hand, Inc. Food Pantry is in need of large boxes. Please save your boxes for us.

Boxes need to be sturdy - they will need to hold about 3 days worth of mostly canned food.

Thank you!

11/02/2025

11/01/2025

11/01/2025

10/31/2025

10/31/2025

Dignity.

When times are hard, dignity can be one of the first things to slip away and that’s something I think about a lot when I make my Meal in a Bag kits.

I see the comments sometimes “Why not just buy a can of soup?” or “Wouldn’t it be cheaper to hand someone a can of chili instead of making a 5-can chili?”

And yes, maybe it would be. But what you’re giving with a Meal in a Bag isn’t just food. You’re giving someone the experience of preparing a meal…of opening ingredients, following a recipe, and sitting down to something they made themselves, even if it is simple, it still feels homemade.

That’s dignity. ❤️

That’s why I take the time to make my recipe cards look nice, to package everything neatly, to make it feel like a gift. Because it is a gift, one that says, “You matter. You deserve something that feels special.” Give someone the gift of dignity.

It’s not about soup or chili or the cost of a few cans. It’s about giving people back a little bit of normalcy, a little comfort, and a lot of heart.

10/30/2025

10/29/25: The Hand to Hand, Inc. Food Pantry is very grateful to Kara and Donald Bates, for their large food donation on 10/29/25, along with a financial donation. Kara brought 5 each of the following food items:

Bread,
Cereal,
Mac & Cheese,
Seasonings,
Ramen Noodles,
Canned meats,
Peanut Butter,
Soups,
Condiments,
Mashed Potatoes,
Gravy,
Cookies,
Spaghetti Noodles,
Rice-A-Roni,
Crackers, and many other food items.

We are so incredibly grateful to Kara and Donald Bates for their care and concern for the many people in McCurtain County who are struggling right now.

We are thankful, grateful and blessed by their kindness and generosity.

10/29/2025

Frequently Asked Questions

How to qualify for a TEFAP Emergency Food Box from the Hand to Hand, Inc. Food Pantry.

Our goal is to never turn anyone away who is in need of emergency food. We will help you any way we can.

The data we collect is used for reporting purposes only: So, we can continue to participate in the USDA TEFAP Emergency Food Assistance Program; and for grant applications, so we can keep the pantry open and operating.

10/29/2025

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HAND TO HAND, INC. FOOD PANTRY:

We are getting a lot of messages asking about our hours & what a person needs to do to receive a TEFAP Emergency Food Box.

THIS POST IS ABOUT OUR HOURS:

Our monthly calendars are posted here on our page. We are re-posting both the October and November calendars below.

Basically, these are our hours:

Monday: 9:00 am - Noon
Tuesday: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
*Wednesday: *11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Thursday: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Fridays: Closed on Fridays

There are a few exceptions to these hours, as follows:

*On most Wednesdays, we do not open until 11:00 am, if we are receiving our weekly grocery order. If we do not receive a grocery order (like today), we open up at 9:00 am.

On the first Thursday of each month, the food pantry is closed, because that is when the Mobile Food Pantry Truck arrives. We do not distribute any TEFAP Emergency Food Boxes on the first Thursday of each month.

We are closed on Fridays. If you see any vehicles there, and the door is locked, it is because Friday is sometimes our "catch-up" day. But the Food Pantry is closed to the public on Fridays. However, on the 2nd Friday of each month, we distribute the CSFP Senior Food Boxes. But the food pantry itself is not open on the 2nd Friday of each month. The CSFP Senior Box Program is a separate program from the TEFAP Emergency Food Box Program. We do not distribute any TEFAP Emergency Food Boxes on the 2nd Friday of each month.

We are also closed on weekends and on national holidays.

10/28/2025

10/28/25: The Hand to Hand, Inc. Food Pantry is very grateful to Evelyn Warren and Matt Owen for their large food donations this morning. They brought the following items:
8 jars of peanut butter
8 cans of peaches
24 cans of green beans
24 cans of corn
8 bottles of pancake syrup
14 bags of pinto beans
15 boxes of mashed potatoes
12 cans of chicken noodle soup
8 jars of spaghetti sauce
8 jars of grape jelly
10 boxes of mac & cheese
10 boxes of strawberry Jello
24 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix
8 boxes of oatmeal
8 boxes of pancake mix
6 boxes of instant dry milk
10 packages of rice
48 cans of tuna fish
72 packages of Ramen noodles
8 boxes of crackers
We are so very blessed by their generosity and kindness!

10/28/2025

10/28/25: The Hand to Hand, Inc. Food Pantry is very grateful to Idabel First United Methodist Church for their large donation of pre-bagged holiday food items.

They delivered 52 complete dinners containing stuffing mix, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, 2 cans each of corn and green beans. In addition there was a great deal of miscellaneous items with cereal , pumpkin, gravy mix and other things.

The food was delivered by Linda DeBerry, Pastor Rachel Parrott, and Ida Ramsey.

We are so very grateful for their faithfulness in missions in collecting, donating and delivering food to the Hand to Hand, Inc. Food pantry each month.

Thank you all so very much and "God Bless!"