If you plan to eat out this week, think about Tuesday evening when Characters Bar & Resaurant in Sloatsburg holds a fundraiser to support the local Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry.

After 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, Characters will donate 15% of each diner’s food tab back to the Food Pantry — including both diners who eat in or take out.

Characters is part of a unified Sloatsburg effort to support the Food Pantry. This time of year, enthusiasm and need picks up as local students and businesses contribute to the cause.

This past weekend, the local Girl Scouts held a food drive Saturday and Sunday outside the Tallman ShopRite, gathering goods that will help toward the upcoming holiday season. ShopRite has also traditionally donated Thanksgiving turkeys to the Food Pantry. Locally, if you’re interested in dropping off food, the Sloatsburg Public Library accepts community donations, acting as an official food pantry drop off spot.

Food Pantry Director Susan Meyer has said that $1 contributed to the Food Pantry can help fund more than four meals — and more. So every dollar raised by the Characters effort goes a long way toward helping to fight local hunger. All you have to do is work up an appetite.

Part of the Sloatsburg United Methodist Church, the Food Pantry resides in the old chapel’s downstairs kitchen and serves approximately 130 members twice a month — families and students within the Ramapo Central and Tuxedo Union Free school districts.

Part of a larger alliance of food pantries and feeding programs across Rockland County, the Sloatsburg Food Pantry is a vital living example of neighbors helping neighbors.

“We are grateful for all donations, food or monetary,” Meyer said. “Nothing goes to waste.”

Characters will hold a fundraiser for the Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry Tuesday, October 21. After 5 p.m., Characters will donate 15% of diners bill toward the Food Pantry — good will diners who eat in or take out.