Thank you to Pieta and the Ulster County Board of Realtors Community Service Committee.
This letter is to everyone at the Ulster County Board of Realtors Community Services Committee who offer ongoing support our food pantry throughout the year.
Specifically, thank you to:
Jean Semilof – Westwood Metes and Bounds
Pieta Williams – Halter Associates Realty
Mitch Rapaport, Margo O’Bourne, and Victoria Hoyt – Win Morrison
Grace Bowne, Dorcinda Knauth – Weichert Realtors, The Spiesman Group
Steve Hubbard – Steve Hubbard Real Estate
Gillian Harper – Wells Fargo Mortgage
Elizabeth Dolly Decker – Hello Dolly Real Estate
Michele Rizzi – Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union
Nan Potter – Potter Realty.
Pieta, you always make my day better when I came down the stairs to my home and see a bag of goodies: razors, shampoo, feminine hygiene products, tooth paste. These are basics – things most of us take for granted.
But, when a person shops at a pantry, nothing can be taken for granted. People coming to the Reservoir Food Pantry have little and need much.
At the Reservoir Food Pantry, we know items of dignity are important to our shoppers, because these items are simply beyond the financial reach for many. People sometimes go to a pantry when there is absolutely no money in the household.
This is true of all categories:
seniors
homeless
ill
unemployed.
Members of the Ulster County Board of Realtors Community Services Committee, you have an ongoing awareness of the issues confronting poor and destitute people in Ulster County. You demonstrate this throughout the year, as you generously give items of dignity for our pantry shoppers.
As Boiceville’s only pantry, we see a level of need not obvious in a more urban setting.
Thank you to everyone at the Ulster County Board of Realtors.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
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November, 2014
“Say goodbye to the landlord for me;
Sons of bitches always bored me.” – Guy Clark
Yet another round of food stamp cuts went into effect just a year ago this month. This national event with far reaching repercussions didn’t negatively affect everyone. After all, a person not receiving SNAP card funds wasn’t even affected unless s/he was politically conservative. In that case, November 5, 2013 was a glorious day.
FOR THOSE RECEIVING SNAP CARD FUNDS, THE IMPACT WAS SERIOUS.
Diane, a pantry shopper has been a widow now for a little over 2 years. She depends totally on her low social security check. Her SNAP card allotment was reduced to $45. This $45 is her total food budget. After Diane pays her rent and utilities, she has no $$$ left for food. All the food she eats comes from the SNAP card and a pantry. She purchases her clothes at the Family of Woodstock free store.
Diane’s old car recently needed repairs and she tried to borrow the needed $$$. That never happened so she wisely gave up and moved to Saugerties to be on a bus line. Honestly, I don’t know how she managed to pull off a move. They are very expensive endeavors.
FOR PANTRY VOLUNTEERS, THE NOVEMBER 5TH CUTS BROUGHT DREAD. We know reducing SNAP card benefits isn’t the answer. When people shop for groceries with SNAP funds, they not only offer nourishment to themselves and their families, they bring much needed outside $$$ to the area, which is often depressed.
Many people have financial problems today which they are never going to overcome without a serious change in our country’s attitude toward poverty. People have no $$$ for food because of:
lack of viable employment
high housing costs
high medical costs
Pantry shoppers lack resources to get beyond a chronic condition of lack in their lives. A few people today are rich at the expense of the poor. According to Couleecap, the richest 1% increased their share of total income by 10%, while, on average, the remaining 99% saw their piece of the pie shrink by 1-2%.
As food benefits were gutted on that fateful day in November, pantry volunteers had valid concerns:
THEY FEARED A NEW WAVE OF OVERWHELMINGLY LONG LINES OF HUNGRY PEOPLE.
They feared we would all run out of food for the people and be unable to get enough to feed the ever increasing number.
There was a realization that few understand: it’s been a long time since we really were emergency food providers.
MANY FEARS BECAME REALITY. Pantry shopping has definitely become more popular. Every week Prasida and Francine bring back more and more food and every bit of it is distributed. Sean Bigler records our weekly journey on a chart on the Reservoir Food Pantry Facebook page and on our website.
The Food Banks of Northeastern New York and the Hudson Valley mustered forces to provide enough food every week. They send trucks to farms, grocers, food manufacturers and bring food back for pantries to take to their shoppers. If the hungry can make it to a pantry, they are fed.
POOR AND STRUGGLING PEOPLE HAVE SLIPPED YET ANOTHER NOTCH AWAY FROM THE RICH. I am convinced, every time I open the pantry doors, that there are now 2 Americas: the haves and the have nots.
We recently received a request for statistics:
How many have we turned away?
How long is our waiting list?
THE QUESTIONS WERE ENDLESS, IT SEEMED. Well, we don’t have those statistics in the Reservoir Food Pantry because we feed the people. The weekly trip to Latham continues rain, shine or snow. The monthly food drives at the Kingston Walmart are important for pantry volunteers.
Most weeks we run out of food about the same time we run out of people so we don’t turn anyone away. We offer a heartfelt “thank you” to everyone who donates food to food banks and food pantries.
At the pantry’s close last Monday, there were 4 carrots left over in a small box, and another small box 1/2 filled with green beans.
We cannot do our job week after week without the continued support of:
Migliorelli Farm,
Ulster Corp gleaners,
Shandaken Community Gardens,
Kingston Walmart,
Boiceville IGA.
Father Nicholas at Holy Ascension Monastery shares donated yogurt with our pantry.
Pieta Williams brings items of dignity.
Lisa Library sends new books for the children.
Beecher Smith and John Parete at Boiceville Inn are the reason we have a pantry with shelves now.
LAST MONTH WE SERVED 856 PEOPLE. In September the number was 834. We expect November’s number to be higher. It has never gone down yet. Why should the trend be different this month?
THE ACTUAL NUMBER DOESN’T MATTER. We don’t plan to turn anyone away.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
An Open Letter to Everyone at Esotec Beverages
This is a public acknowledgement to you for your generosity throughout this year. Our
first year at Reservoir Food Pantry brought growth coupled with successes along the way.
EVERY PANTRY HAS SOMETHING WHICH SETS IT APART FROM ALL THE OTHERS. One thing setting the Reservoir Food Pantry from other area pantries is our strong take out department. 40% of the households we serve are home bound. The residents never leave their homes.
These people all have special situations they’re dealing with:
Illness
Old age
Physical disabilities
Transportation issues
Whatever their challenges, the volunteers at Reservoir Food Pantry are there for them. We cannot do this job without your support. The juices and beverages you donate to us go directly into the food packages for home bound people.
Your generosity offers food of a quality that neither we nor they can possibly get anywhere else. Neither the home bound clients nor the pantry have the funds for such delicious, nutritious food products. Please know that when a home bound person opens a food package and finds one of your fine beverages, you have made that person’s day.
Thanks again for your generosity toward our pantry, our clients, and our community. You are making a real difference.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
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The Debate Rages On
An older man came into the pantry wearing a baseball cap which read “Korean War Veteran”. I simply could not then and cannot now understand how this man, who fought as a soldier in the very brutal Korean conflict in the 1950’s is now, as an old man, reduced to standing in a pantry line for food.
ACTUALLY, I KNEW THE ANSWER. His social security check is just not large enough to buy food and he’s outlived his savings.
One day a tall, handsome man with a generous head of wavy white hair, approached me in Bread Alone. “I want to shake your hand. I worked all my life. When I was laid off recently, I realized that I’m never going to work again. If it weren’t for your efforts in the pantry, I would be going hungry.”
George, while he had white hair, was not yet old enough for social security. So, he relied on unemployment, food stamps, and the pantry. The hope in these cases is always that the unemployment insurance will last until the social security kicks in.
ONE FAMOUS ARTIST SHOPPED REGULARLY while going through foreclosure. He kept a positive attitude about the whole thing. But, the sorrow was unavoidable. He ended up living in Kingston. He still made it over to the pantry whenever he could for about a year afterward. The transition out of Woodstock was very difficult.
SOME PEOPLE HAD THEIR OWN OPINIONS ABOUT THE SITUATION:
“Thurman, you are serving entirely too much food to these people. You can’t do this.”
“Thurman, you’re filling this building with vagrants and riffraff. You need to keep the riffraff out.”
“Thurman, why are you serving fresh fruits and vegetables in the pantry? You
shouldn’t do this.”
“Thurman, why are you giving food to her? She is not a responsible parent. She needs to be raising her children more responsibly.”
OFTEN THESE OPINIONS WERE SHARED BY PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T HAVE THE FACTS AND WHO HAD NEVER BEEN HUNGRY.
When people begin to debate poverty, they always seem to talk
family,
race,
money,
culture.
THIS IS THE WRONG DEBATE. What we need to discuss is power, inequality, and exploitation.
Seniors, due to their age, are exploited because, when they quit working or get a retirement job, they lose their power.
Women are exploited in both the workplace and domestic situations. They are not paid equal wages for jobs performed.
POOR PEOPLE ARE EXPLOITED BECAUSE THEY LACK THE RESOURCES TO FIGHT BACK.
POVERTY IS A HIGHLY CHARGED ISSUE. If you don’t believe me, try listening to politicians rage on about how the minimum wage should or should not be increased. The Obama care battle is still being waged. The movement to gut the food stamp benefits and unemployment benefits is popular.
Corporate downsizing is routine in our country with layoffs occuring in both good times and bad.
THE SAFETY NET FOR THE HUNGRY IS ALL BUT GONE.
Workers in America have no overtime pay, no retirement funds, no health insurance, and no voice.
Minimum wages in tandem with part time employment force people to work several jobs. Holding down 2 or 3 jobs is the norm in communities throughout our country.
IN OUR NATION WE EXPLOIT THE POOR, PUNISH THEM FOR NOT MAKING MORE $$$ AND LABEL THEM IRRESPONSIBLE BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE BETTER JOBS, EDUCATION, RESOURCES.
How can a person:
get a better job which does not exist?
get more education when the $$$ to pay for it is not available to him/her?
pay for healthcare when there in’t even enough $$$ for food?
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Books! Books! Books! – For a Food Pantry?
One thing no one ever discusses in the pantry is the past. They speak about things that happened last week or so but never beyond. Whatever happened before they find the pantry is just not on the agenda. As holidays approach, no one ever speaks about the Thanksgivings, Christmases, Hanukkahs, Passovers they had before their lives spun out of control. No one ever mentions that there isn’t enough money to get Passover food. No one ever asks a child what Santa is going to bring.
“Hi Thurman. How’re you doing? I know we haven’t spoken in awhile but I’m wondering if your pantry can use some books?”
“Of course! We offer food for the body and now we’ll have books for the soul. ” What could be better?
So, within a very short time, my car was parked outside the door of Lisa Library in Kingston getting stuffed with boxes of beautiful, educational, fun, adorable, new books for children. While I was still pinching myself to be sure it was really happening, we headed out for the pantry and stacked them for distribution on Monday.
This is a real gift…a prayer answered. This time of year I’m always searching for things people can use as holiday gifts. It goes without saying that gifts are just not in anyone’s budget right now. (Not in the pantry world, anyway.)
We have families with children coming to our pantry. They’ll go home (wherever and whatever that is) with a special treat this week.
We also have grandparents with not one penny for a holiday gift for grandchildren. Well, now, thanks to Elisa Gee and Lisa Library, these grandchildren have a chance to get a gift from a grandparent.
Thank you Lisa Library!
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Who Volunteers? – Working in a food pantry
THE SHORT ANSWER? Everybody. But, of course, that’s not the whole story.
Can you:
drive a car?
drive a truck?
say “Welcome” to frightened people?
stock food on shelves?
direct traffic in the parking lot behind Robert”s Auction?
address envelopes?
stuff envelopes?
call people up and ask them to help deliver food ?
sit at a table in front of the Kingston Walmart?
But, really, whether or not you can do anything on the list is irrelevant. If you want to get a close look at the ideal volunteer, simply go over to the nearest mirror and take a look.
DOES THE MIRROR YOU’RE LOOKING IN HAVE A CRACK? Is it chipped? Are there a few spots? So much the better.
The ideal volunteer is you and me and our neighbors down the street. We’re all qualified for the job. And, if someone has just remarked on how old you are, that just makes you even more qualified.
Remember, in a pantry, there are no overqualified people.
The better question is not “Who” but “Why”?
PEOPLE ARE SEEKING AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE. Humans are social beings and it’s important for our mental, physical, and spiritual health to stay connected to our community. There is no better place to maintain this connection than working in a pantry.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO STAY PHYSICALLY FIT. Working at a pantry offers fun exercise without the cost of going to a gym.
DO YOU NEED FOOD? Many pantry volunteers use the pantry. This is important. We’re bringing the very same food into the pantry and distributing that we are also shopping from. We’re not asking anyone to take home food that we consider inferior. People are happy to come to the Reservoir Food Pantry because the quality and variety of the food is the best we can get. This wouldn’t happen if we didn’t shop at the pantry ourselves.
Have life’s circumstances caused you to feel as though you’ve been put out to pasture? Not to worry. Retirement and/or loss of a job happen to all of us. The absolute backbone of the food pantry industry is retired people. Retired people are an indispensable part of the entire business of feeding the hungry. In fact, I’m using every one of my life skills in the pantry and I’m in my 70’s.
WORKING IN A PANTRY OFFERS US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE. When you work at a food pantry, you are surrounded by people doing things. You are with people who care.
Working at a pantry offers volunteers an opportunity to be around people who are different from ourselves. Working at a pantry will put you shoulder-to-shoulder with people who are different in age, race, education, first language, religious belief, political outlook, and social class. In a pantry, we’re people from all walks of life working together to feed hungry people.
All THE DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPENING WHEN YOU WORK IN A PANTRY CONSPIRE TO KEEP YOU YOUNG.
Everyone works with a single goal: to feed the hungry. Goals give us meaning and purpose in life.
There is a downside, though. The blessings we all receive from this work distract us from 2 harsh facts of life:
deteriorating economic conditions and
increasing inequality.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Food pantries are a little quirky.
There’s all this Food out There
“While you’re making your way around the room, take what you need of the fresh produce, breads and bakery items. We’ve got potatoes here and carrots, onions, peppers, spinach, salad mix. Take what you can eat in 3 days.
“IS THIS YOUR FIRST VISIT? Welcome! We hope you’ll come every week. That’s how you get the best deals. Come on in. Go around the pantry in a clockwise direction. Begin here with a bottle of water. Now, as you go around the room, can you use a box of cereal? How about a jar of peanut butter? We have some jelly today. Take a jar of mayonnaise, too.”
I was speaking with a new shopper, a young woman who had just come in the door. She was on the verge of tears. I learned the best way to handle this situation was to cheerfully guide her through the room. When a person cried, I treated the event as though everything was normal. And, it was normal to see people crying in the pantry occasionally. If they asked for a tissue, I gave them one. Other than that, I ignored the tears.
“No thanks. I have a jar of mayonnaise at home now. My kitchen is almost totally empty because my husband hasn’t worked in 7 months. I’m completely out of food. But I do have some mayonnaise.”
“Take it anyway. You never know when we’ll get more in.” Back on this wall is the USDA section. Take a can of each type of vegetable or fruit for each person in your household. That means you can take cans of vegetarian beans, refried beans, green beans, corn, peaches, and tomato sauce. How many people are in your household? “There’s me, my husband and our 2 daughters. They’re in elementary school.”
MONTHS LATER HER STORY REVEALED ITSELF. Her husband, badly injured in an accident, may never work again. They sold a piece of land for money to live on. One child has diabetes. Here was a woman struggling against all obstacles to do the best she can to raise her children properly.
I’M ALWAYS PROUD TO CARRY USDA PRODUCTS IN THE PANTRY. When a person’s kitchen is totally empty, it’s a godsend to be able to take several cans of different foods to put on the shelves at home. Our tax dollars are at work here.
Let’s consider the United States Department of Agriculture for a moment. As our country accumulates agricultural surpluses, the food is distributed to those in need. I always get the feeling that our government is embarrassed by this food.
A much better, more mature, more realistic attitude is to realize (understand) it’s impossible to produce only the food we need. It’s better to have too much food than too little.
Droughts and floods work on their own schedules and weather is very difficult to control.
CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE: FOOD SHORTAGES.
SURPLUS FOOD HAS A DEFINITE PLACE IN OUR COUNTRY:
Diverting food from landfills offers communities an opportunity to feed people who don’t have any money after paying for housing and transportation to work.
Diverting food from landfills offers communities an opportunity to improve our environment.
Diverting food from landfills offers communities an opportunity to ensure that children do not go to school hungry. This is a major investment in the future because children have a difficult time learning on an empty stomach.
NO ONE IN OUR GREAT NATION SHOULD GO HUNGRY.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
A New Paradigm for the Struggling Class
“We’ve got to do something.” I said to Guy Oddo one afternoon.
“Yup” he replied. “The parking lot’s dangerous. There’s going to be a wreck out there one of these days.”
“Actually, there was. Someone ran into my car about 2 weeks ago. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Well, he said, how about we put a volunteer in the parking lot to direct traffic? And, what if we limit the shopping time in the Pantry? Can we make some people park in the town lot down the street?”
So, we did all 3 things. They kept coming. They needed the food.
As I return in my thoughts to the depths of the autumn of ’08, the thing I remember most is the changes brought about by the The Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program people as they introduced new produce guidelines and called for a 3-day-supply of food for everyone in each household.
AND, I THINK OF MANY THINGS THAT HAPPENED SINCE.
My mind moves to the present, as we overcome (hopefully) this depression. Two things happened for sure:
There are many, many new wealthy people – millionaires, billionaires, kazillionaires whose new money isn’t trickling down yet. Will it ever?
AT THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, A NEW CLASS HAS EMERGED: THE STRUGGLING CLASS.
MANY JOBS WERE LOST, NEVER TO RETURN. Many people experienced the end of a working life during that time. The lucky ones were able to get early Social Security. Not everyone was 62 yet.
One angry man came to our pantry weekly. He first showed up the day after he was fired. And, of course, it was one of those situations where we all knew he wasn’t ever going to work again. It took him over a year to calm down from the injustice of it all. He was quiet about his anger but anyone with a brain and an eye knew what was happening.
In this case, I felt close to the event. I saw him go through stages of adjustment: shock,
anger,
disbelief,
grief,
resignation.
On a national level, a positive change happened, though: the demise of the Emergency Food Assistance Program. It’s a food assistance program still, and, actually, nobody has even dropped the word “Emergency”. But, when I listen to people in my industry talking among themselves, I’m really aware that everyone seems to know it’s not emergency now and hasn’t been emergency since ’08.
The Struggling Class are hard working singles, families, and seniors who simply lack money for food. The purchasing power of the hourly wage received at the 2 to 3 jobs we hold continues to decrease while food, housing, transportation, healthcare costs continue to rise. There is no job security anymore.
I SEE NO IMPROVEMENT FOR THE STRUGGLING CLASS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. This is our new cultural landscape. It’s our job to navigate this new terrain as positively as possible with new survival skills.
What does this mean?
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT’S HAPPENING:
PWhen we shop at pantries and eat at soup kitchens, we’re reducing our footprint on this planet.
When we shop at pantries we actively divert food from dumpsters, landfills.
In the new paradigm, we no longer buy the idea that what we are doing is charity. It’s not charity. Charity segregates, stigmatizes, and demeans us.
When we shop at pantries, our tax dollars are at work and we are on the front lines of the movement to develop a cleaner, safer, future.
Pantries strengthen the whole community by assisting those who are most vulnerable.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
“Can I volunteer in your pantry tomorrow?”
“If you’ve seen one homeless person, you’ve seen one homeless person.” – Thurman Greco
“Can I volunteer in your pantry tomorrow? I know about food and can help you.” The man standing before me was short and sturdy, with a gray pony tail…a typical homeless person if I ever saw one. He wore secondhand store denim and had not one ounce of extra weight on him. His boots and backpack were in good condition but definitely not new.
HIS REQUEST REEKED OF HUMBLE. This man had humble down sooo well. Humble is important when a person is homeless and mentally together. The police hassle homeless people so they learn skills to stay out of jail.
A very lose friend of mine, Paul Schmeltzer, once explained two important skills a homeless person needs: the ability to be humble and the ability to remember names and dates flawlessly. Paul could tell me what corner of what city he sat on at 2:15 in the afternoon on the last Friday in August, 2010. “These skills are necessary for a homeless person because if s/he can’t be humble and remember details, then jail time is in the near future”.
For those homeless with mental health issues, details like humble, coherency, an exacting memory are extremely challenging.
But, back to the story.
CAN YOU WORK IN MY PANTRY TOMORROW? How did you know all my volunteers have prior commitments tomorrow? I got excited! I’ve fed over 100 people by myself before, many times. But, volunteers help. Help is help. My pay grade is the absolute lowest in town.
“SURE,’ I SAID. “Love to have you. When you say you know food, what do you have in mind?”
“I’m a vegan. I know about produce. I’ll prep all your fresh food tomorrow.”
Sure, whatever that means. “Great. I’ll see you tomorrow. By the way, my name is Thurman.”
“And, I’m Arlen. Pleased to meet you, Thurman.” With that we shook hands and off he went.
The next day, Arlen walked into the pantry just as I finished stuffing two van loads of fresh produce into the tiny room. Pretty well gone was humble. In its place was a person who obviously knows and loves good quality food. He went to work.
First, he hauled all the boxes of produce back outside the building to the sidewalk where most of the pantry shoppers would wait to get into the building. Then, he arranged the food. Just. So. He made a workstation for himself as he assembled a large, black, heavy duty plastic bag for the inedible produce. A box turned upside down became a prep center, and the produce was neatly placed around him.
Starting with the carrots, he picked up a bunch, carefully removed the tops, then arranged them for shoppers to select from.
He divided bananas into 3 groups: rotten bananas to be discarded, bananas to be used for cooking, and those fresh enough to eat raw. And so he continued until he had prepped, graded, and arranged every fruit and vegetable delivered to the pantry in the vans that day. Arlen examined every leaf, stem, item in every box. He discarded the trash, he arranged all edible fruits and vegetables in gorgeous stacks.
Shoppers in the pantry that afternoon went home (to wherever or whatever that was) with perfect produce: no yellow leaves, no soft spots, no bruises, no tops. Everything was ready to prepare…just as if it had been bought in Gracie Balducci’s or Whole Foods. WOW.
Once, during the pantry food distribution, I quickly went outside the building to check on Arlen…just to see how things were going. “Buenas tardes, Senora. Cual frutas necessitas hoy?”
What? I heard Spanish! Arlen was speaking with a shopper in her native tongue. By the end of the pantry day, he spoke with shoppers in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Haitian, Italian, Creole. Arlen was entertaining everyone.
I knew I was going to be taken to the woodshed for allowing the food distribution at the entrance to the building but it was such a gift to the shoppers to receive this beautiful food and to speak their native tongues that I figured early on that I would take the anger and press on.
AND, I DID AND IT WAS WORTH IT. Every bit of it! Months later, they still hadn’t gotten over Arlen’s visit.
Actually, it was visits.
From that point on, whenever Arlen came to town, he worked in the pantry. He made us all feel we were special because our pantry was vegetarian.
Each homeless person is a special personality and has a special situation which s/he deals with.
So, how is Arlen homeless? Well, he moves around a lot and has a selection of friends who host him when he’s in the area. When Arlen arrives, there’s always a flurry of activity because he participates in all the events. Arlen assembled tents and kept the grounds clean when we had our first pantry music festival. .
When Holly Post, his Woodstock hostess, put her house on the market to move to Rosendale, Arlen was upset. “Holly’s got her house on the market and we’re moving to Rosendale” he said with feeling. Wherever Holly goes, Arlen is going too. I’m sure that, although Arlen will miss Woodstock, he and Rosendale will love each other.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Reservoir Food Pantry Begins Its Second Year
We’re STILL here! And, we’re doing better than ever.
Monday was a landmark day at the pantry. Last Monday, we moved our tables and chairs away from the parking lot of the Wastewater Treatment Plant and set up in our new shed.
WE’RE IN AN ADORABLE RED SHED WHICH IS PERFECT FOR US. We’re all so excited about this step forward. Our address is the same. The clients are the same. The food is the same. The only thing that’s different is the building. We’re distributing food from the building. We’re now indoors.
We all loved being outdoors last summer and may return there this coming summer. However, it’ll be nice to be working indoors over the winter.
As I opened the door of the shed, my thoughts were filled with trepidation. I had no idea what was going to happen or how the shed would be received by volunteers and shoppers. There was also a real question about whether or not the place would even work or not.
Well, shame on me. I shouldn’t have bothered. The whole pantry shift went off without a hitch:
Everyone was able to find the pantry shed even though it’s totally hidden from the road.
We were all able to get into the shed in spite of the step up. The few shoppers with mobility issues had no problem at all.
I was worried that the food wouldn’t fit. Well, that was a waste of time. The shed totally absorbed our entire monthly shipment as if it was just nothing. We weren’t the least bit overfull.
Sponsors who brought produce to our pantry had absolutely no problem bringing it to the shed. We get food from Migliorelli, Bread Alone, Shandaken Gardens, and Huguenot Street Farm every week. Everyone found us.
And, finally, we didn’t get any complaints about the shed being too small. It’s not too small. It’s perfect!
I send a heartfelt message of gratitude to everyone who worked to make this shed a reality. Bonnie, Sean, and Prasida chose the building after searching “high and lo” for just the right one. The board supported our shed with a unanimous vote. The Town of Olive had no problem with our idea and gave us a permit with no delay.
The only thing we’re missing still is the electricity. But, that’s coming. We didn’t need it Monday but we’ll be needing it when it gets colder.
The Reservoir Food Pantry couldn’t be more perfect. Thank you everyone who has helped make this pantry possible.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
