Good afternoon, everybody – This past Wednesday was a nice day again, and we were able to serve 115 families, consisting of 234 adults, 148 children and 37 seniors, for a total of 419 people. A record 42 deliveries were made to people who, due to illness, quarantine or some other issue, couldn’t get to us.
In a hopeful sign that the pandemic will end someday, there’s now a large bin at Stop & Shop for the pantry. They had taken away our other bin months ago due to COVID. The new bin is near the self-checkout section. I assume many people on this list shop at Stop & Shop, so please remember to pick up a few extra items to leave in the bin for us. We’re glad that Stop & shop has found a place for a bin, and this one is much bigger than the previous one. That’s good because we’re serving many more families and we need more food. Thank you, Stop & Shop.
Speaking of getting back to normal, a group of us pantry volunteers met last night with the South Presbyterian Church Session (its governing body) to discuss and plan for how the church can be open for church services while the pantry is still using the sanctuary as a work space. Volunteer Duke Coffey and Co-Director Vera Halpenny, together with several other volunteers, have come up with some exciting ideas for how the sanctuary can serve both at once. We’ll keep you posted.
As I mentioned last week, the members of the Peace Islands Initiative donated 500 packets of sanitizing hand wipes and we started giving them out this week. The clients were delighted to have them, and we have enough to continue offering them for a couple of weeks.
The Village of Dobbs Ferry has provided Village residents with a survey, to be filled out anonymously, exploring people’s experiences with the Dobbs Ferry Police Department. And on Thursday, February 25 at 6:00 p.m. there will be a public forum over Zoom to discuss the survey and people’s thoughts about it. I’m happy that the Village is doing this, and I’m sure this will provide the Village and the Police Department with important information. In an effort to reach as many residents as possible, Alissa Fasman, Assistant to the Village Administrator, sent a supply of the survey, in English and Spanish, for us to offer to our clients who live in Dobbs Ferry, and many of them have taken the form. If anybody on this list would like to attend the Forum on February 25, just visit the Village’s website at www.dobbsferry.com. Click on “current events” and you’ll find a calendar, where you’ll click on February 25 and you’ll find the Zoom invitation right there. You can also phone in if you don’t want to participate through Zoom.
We often put informational flyers in with the bag of fruits and vegetables taken home by each client. This week they received two flyers – one was from the Zion Episcopal Hilltop Thrift Shop at 55 Cedar Street, Dobbs Ferry, advertising a yearly sale on their items. Many of our clients love the thrift shop, and maybe people on this list do, too. I didn’t get to see the flyer, so I don’t know when the sale is taking place, but I’m sure a quick call to Zion (914-693-9320) would provide all the information you need.
The other flyer was from Loretta’s Mane Station (10 Cedar Street, Dobbs Ferry, 914-591-5212), offering a one-time free haircut to any pantry client. She’s offering to do this on Mondays in February and March, which is the day she’s closed. I just checked with her and she’s already scheduled several of our clients who are thrilled with the chance to have either their or their child’s hair cut. A big thank-you to Loretta Gaspari for being so generous to our clients.
Everybody keep your fingers crossed that we don’t have any more snowstorms that would stop us from opening the pantry!
Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry 