Let’s Celebrate National Farmer’s Week – August 2 to 9
National Farmers Market Week begins Sunday. If you can, please take a moment this week to thank local farmers for the great food they provide our communities. Thank them also for the support we see at food pantries everywhere.
They do this as a project of the recently begun Farm Stand concept, the brainchild of Jan Whitman and Ron VanWarmer. Jan, Ron, and Carrie Jones Ross worked together to create farm stands in pantries throughout the Hudson Valley where the hungry shop for fresh produce at a price they can afford: free.
I visited 2 Farm Stands in Kingston, New York, recently. One is located at People’s Place and the other at Community Action. What an event Jan, Ron, and Carrie put together! Excited, happy shoppers choose from:
tomatoes
potatoes
onions
squashes
greens
grapes
oranges
apples.
By focusing on feeding the struggling class, one person at a time, the hungry are being fed and the lives of thousands are touched. All Farm Stand food is donated by farmers. No local merchant is losing a sale by not seeing customers in a supermarket line because these people don’t have the income to buy any of the food.
The growing Farm Stand concept offers an opportunity to move the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley into the future at breakneck speed.
In addition to the Farm Stand donations, food pantries throughout our area receive hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh, nutritious, delicious food each year from local farms. Much of it is organic.
On the individual pantry front, Migliorelli Farm donates fresh produce weekly to our pantry year round. Greenleaf Farm Stand donates produce to volunteers who drop by before the pantry opens every Monday.
Prasida and Francine drive the pantry van to the Regional Food Bank in Latham weekly to pick up fresh produce donated from Hudson Valley Farms.
The Regional Food Bank owns the Patroon Farm which grows organic vegetables. Their crops all go to the food pantries and soup kitchens throughout our area.
The generosity offered by farmers and local pantry volunteers makes pantry distribution a reality. Those who selflessly share their time make our mission a success. Without the dedication and generosity of our farmers, where would be be?
http://www.foodbankofhudsonvalley.org
http://www.regionalfoodbank.new/farm/overview
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Thurman greco
Something Every Pantry Needs
TOILET PAPER, TAMPONS, RAZORS
“I’m happy to inform you that the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York received a grant from….to assist your program with its food needs. Your agency, Reservoir Food Pantry (2539f), has received….from this award! It is a pleasure to share this good news with you and to know those you serve will benefit from this gift.”
WHEN I GET THESE SURPRISES IN THE MAIL, IT MAKES MY DAY – SOMETIMES MY WHOLE WEEK!
Immediately, I think about all the things I can get for the pantry with this gift:
toilet paper,
tampons,
razors.
This $$$ will be put in our pantry account as a grant to help us get food and other supplies from the Food Bank. This grant is called an “Adopt-a-Program” grant, or AAP for short.
Once the gift is specified for us, the amount goes directly into our line of credit. And, this gift is worth so much more than the amount donated. At the Food Bank, the AAP funds are more valuable than if the $$$ were used at a supermarket. The Food Bank estimates the amount is 10 times more valuable. This grant is very important for getting items of dignity: toilet paper, tampons, razors.
These grants are very important because they free up other funds for pantry projects. With these grants we’ve had $$$ available for other projects in the past months. Because the struggle for food is lessened, volunteers have energy for other activities in the pantry.
We have a new, used, Chevy econoline van which makes food hauling tasks easier for Prasida and Francine.
We received 2 new 20 cubic food freezers which completely upgrade the way we feed the hungry in the pantry.
We’ve brought a grant writer volunteer on board. She’s attending classes, doing research, and has written 2 successful grant requests already.
THE TINY RESERVOIR FOOD PANTRY WAS RECENTLY RANKED THE 9TH LARGEST PANTRY IN ULSTER COUNTY. For me, this is nothing short of amazing. After all, we only opened in September, 2013.
IN SHORT, WE’RE GROWING, GROWING, AND GROWING. We need every dime you can spare.
You can participate in the Adopt-a-Program grants. You can deposit a gift into our AAP account 3 different ways.
One way is to call the Food Bank of Northeastern New York at 1-518-786-3691. When you tell the receptionist you want to make an AAP donation, please specify that you want the funds to be earmarked for the Reservoir Food Pantry #2539f.
You can also go to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York website and donate there. Click on the “Donate Now” button to use the secure online donation form. There you can enter the donation, and direct it to our pantry. You can also, if you prefer, set up recurring donations which will be automatically charged to your account: monthly,
quarterly,
annually.
You can also mail a check to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, 965 Albany Shaker Road, Latham, NY, 12110. Again, please specify the Reservoir Food Pantry #2539f.
Thank you in advance for your generosity. Remember…your donation of $10 will purchase $100 worth of product for the food pantry.
Peace and food for all.
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Thurman Greco
In Search Of
Diane slowly walked the two blocks to the pantry every Thursday morning to work in the hallway a couple of hours until she got enough energy to walk home. “Don’t forget your roll of toilet paper, Judith. We’ve got hand cream today. Can you use that or would you prefer tooth paste?”
When she finally couldn’t work in the hallway anymore we had no one for the station, so we relied on Robyn who gracefully sat in front of the Items of Dignity closet and helped shoppers choose needed items. She lived in nearby Mt. Tremper. Her living situation seemed to be somewhat precarious because every few months she looked for a new place to live. I think she lived in her car a couple of times.
During shopping lulls, Robyn addressed envelope after envelope after envelope for the fundraising letters we sent out several times each year. So, really, Robyn worked two jobs in the hallway: Items of Dignity and Fundraising.
One afternoon Robyn came to my home. “Phoebe died yesterday Thurman. I need a place to bury her.” We found a quiet place in my garden under a Japanese Willow. She and Barry dug a grave and placed her beloved cat, wrapped in a rug, in the freshly dug earth. After sprinkling dirt over Phoebe, Barry emptied a large bag of mulch over the grave. I offered a prayer.
The next morning, as I walked by the area, I saw a cross and a little bouquet of flowers on the grave.
Leticia, our 99-pound wonder, seems to the casual observer not to be a candidate for heavy lifting. However, she shows up on Tuesday mornings ready for shelving action. A retired teacher, she doesn’t stock shelves. She packs them. No box is too large, No case is too heavy. A tiny Latina whirlwind, Leticia gives energy to all of us.
Our pantry shed is small so we rely on her expertise to have enough food available for the shoppers on pantry day. When Leticia finishes packing a shelf, we can’t even get a paper clip in the extra space. Go Leticia!
No one wakes up one day and says “I think I’ll go down to the local food pantry and volunteer”. People spending time in pantries, either as volunteers or shoppers, travel down a path to get there. For the most part, the people seek healing on some level:
A job has disappeared and they need a grounding activity as they seek the next job.
They need a respite from another situation.
They need to heal from an illness.
They seek connection to the community.
Food Pantries and Food Banks everywhere rely on the support and dedication of friends and neighbors to keep doors open. When you volunteer to feed the hungry, you share time and talents. Your skills are vital to our mission.
No matter where you live, be it Upstate New York, Southern California or anywhere in between, there’s a Food Pantry or a Food Bank nearby with volunteer opportunities. Chances are pretty good that your schedule can be met. Get involved! You’ll make a difference.
At the Reservoir Food Pantry, we need people to:
organize a food or fund drive during the year to benefit the many households we serve,
drive packages of food to home bound people,
work in the pantry during opening hours,
help prepare mailers which will go out several times during the year (This activity happens during pantry hours at the Reservoir Food Pantry),
work in our new thrift shop.
Volunteers working at the Reservoir Food Pantry, or at the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham, or the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley in Cornwall-on-Hudson, come from all walks of life:
students,
seniors,
business people,
church members,
service organizations.
If you know an employee in an area school, we are looking to organize a school food drive for the Reservoir Food Pantry.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact us:
Mary Mazur 518-786-3691×268 is the volunteer coordinator at the Regional Food Bank in Latham.
Jessica Fetonti, 845-534-5344 is at the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley in Cornwall.
Thurman Greco, 845-399-3967 is at the Reservoir Food Pantry.
Now is the best season of the year to volunteer at a Food Pantry or Food Bank. Everyone at these facilities is gearing up for the holiday feeding season so people are needed to sort food for distribution to food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters. Join in the fun, building teamwork, and giving back to the community all at the same time.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco