August 8, 2018

We now have a bin at both doors of Stop & Shop, and yesterday when I was there one of the bins was packed with food and other items, all valuable.  I took a picture of the bin and then emptied it out and put it all in my car to bring to the pantry today.  Two of our volunteers brought everything in from my car this morning and we gave just about everything out today.  Thanks to everyone who bought something extra and put it into the bin.  Please keep doing that.  Our supplies run low very quickly, and generous donations are what keep us going.

Many people have also responded to our Facebook campaign.  We’ve received many Pay Pal donations on our website (www.dobbsferrypantry.org).  This has kept us going financially, which is crucial to our functioning, especially in summer.  It’s heartwarming that people we’ve never known before have made the effort to donate so that people in the Rivertowns don’t go hungry in the summer.

We continue to receive every month a standing order of diapers and baby wipes from one woman who’s a mother and knows how much these cost.  Amazon automatically brings the diapers and wipes to my door.  I load them into my car and take them over to South Church, where they’re quickly given out.  We cherish the consistency and reliability of a standing order like this, and I’m sending out a hug to that mother for helping us over the long term.

We were visited today at the pantry by a woman by the name of Mary Sherman, who’s an Americorp/VISTA volunteer spending a year working at Mercy College.  Mercy’s Bronx campus has a functioning food pantry because many of their students are struggling to pay for college, pay rent and eat.  Mary says that even Mercy staff and faculty sometimes need help with feeding themselves and their families.  What she’s working on is creating a similar food pantry at the Dobbs Ferry campus because students and staff at the Westchester campus need just as much help.  They’re working on remodeling some office space with shelves and a couple of refrigerators and figuring out how to staff and run the pantry.  She wanted to see how we operate, and we were happy to show her around.  We’ll be staying in touch, and we’ll be finding ways to help and advise the people at Mercy as they take this important step.  They’re hoping to have a Grand Opening in October, so watch for further news!