Our Mission

To support Yates County disadvantaged children by addressing issues of food insecurity and academic readiness.

To address poverty by empowering Yates County children and their families.

Our Vision

To reduce food insecurity among Yates County children and give them the school supplies necessary to begin a new academic year ready to succeed.

To be recognized as a generous and compassionate organization supporting Yates County children.

Bags of food distributed since 2008

School bags with supplies distributed since 2010

Years of service to children in Yates County

Our Work

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Weekend Back Pack Program

The program allows weekend food to be available for children in need.

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School Supplies Program

The program goal is to assure that each child is prepared for a successful school year by being provided teacher-requested school supplies.

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Pinwheel Market & Cafe Next Door

The market offers sales of local artisan products, espresso drinks, light lunches, and desserts. Featuring free WiFi, the café is a comfortable gathering place for local residents and tourists.

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Kitchen & Ballroom

The commercial kitchen on the 2nd floor is available for entrepreneurial activities and cooking classes. The 3rd floor Ballroom complex are busy with private rental and health and wellness classes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who do you provide services to?

Children up to 18 years of age residing in Yates County.

What services do you provide?

Weekend food once a week to registered youth through Weekend Back Pack Program. Teacher requested school supplies for K-12 through School Supplies Program. Summer meals through Summer Food Program.

How can I help?

We value and encourage volunteering with our programming or Main Street business, The Pinwheel Market & Cafe. We also accept monetary donations by mail or drop off to The Pinwheel Market & Cafe.

Who is Milly?

Milly Camilla (Milly) Bloomquist was origin of inspiration (thus our name, Milly’s Pantry) who served the community as the school nurse for 30 years in Penn Yan, where she recognized and responded to the need she saw in the area. Her creation of numerous programs to help the poor and under-served children in Yates County began with Food for the Needy & Christmas for the Needy. “Milly” continued her leadership role over the last fifty years, creating and spearheading an all volunteer community workforce that has fed, clothed and provided school supplies to many in need across Yates County.
The most recent program, known as the Weekend Back Pack Program – purchases, packs and distributes food to children for consumption on weekends spent away from school lunch programs, where otherwise hunger would prevail.

For her unceasing lifetime of work in making life a bit easier for the children of Yates County, Camilla “Milly” Bloomquist has been awarded “THE PRESIDENTIAL CITIZENS MEDAL” by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony in October of 2011.

What kind of items do you sell in your store?

We are home to nearly 150 local artists, craftspeople and food vendors.

We also provide our own from scratch light lunch menu items, old-fashion homemade sodas, milkshakes, and a coffee bar beverages.

Every $3 purchase helps provide food for a single child for a weekend.

We’ve never turned any child away. And thanks to the generosity of our community, we never will.

George Schaeffer

Gives me a bigger sense of purpose.

anonymous

We so appreciate your generosity! Our boys are always hungry so this will help them remain focused.

Mrs. Jacobs

I’m not done yet!

M. Bloomquist

I feel fulfilled volunteering here.

L. Corey

Want more information?

Drop us a line anytime, and we’ll respond to you as soon as possible!

Milly’s Pantry COVID-19 Message

Our 19 Main Street storefront, The Pinwheel Market, is NOW OPEN! In accordance with CDC and state guidelines, we have enhanced our cleaning and sanitation procedures and implemented certain safety elements to create a comfortable environment for our visiting customers.

We’ve limited our business hours to Thursday through Saturday, 10am-4pm
We’ve closed our lunch service but our drink and dessert bar are open, as well as our local vendor and artisan merchandise
We’ve increased the frequency of sterilizing and disinfecting
We’ve posted signage informing visiting customers that face shields are required before entering the store
We’ve provided hand sanitization areas and free face masks for customers
We’ve highlighted floor spacing to allow for social distancing
We’ve removed instore seating and adopted a ‘take-out only’ approach to our service
All staff and Market volunteers wear protective masks and use hand sanitizer between services
We’ve installed counter top and payment location plexiglass shields
We’ve reviewed with all staff and volunteers on all food safety practices, with enhanced state guidelines on COVID-19
We monitor staff and volunteers for signs of any type of illness and encourage them to return or stay home if ill

We will continue to evaluate our safety procedures and adjust accordingly. The safety of our customers, staff and volunteers remains our top priority. Milly’s Pantry continues to serve youth in Yates County through our Weekend Back Pack Program and School Supplies Programming. We are taking necessary precautions in packing and working with the schools for distribution to families.

If you need information with emergency resources, Milly’s Pantry Programming or The Pinwheel Market, you can e-mail millyspantry@millyspantry.org or call 315-694-7350.