Good morning, everybody – yesterday we served a record 159 families, including 320 adults, 193 children and 59 seniors, bringing us to 572 people served. Our delivery volunteers also made a record 49 deliveries. Now that people are finally starting to receive vaccinations, maybe some will be able to go back to work, which means they’ll be able to buy their own food again. Then our numbers won’t be so high. That’s what we’re hoping for. Then maybe some of those people will turn around and donate to the pantry. It has happened in the past, and we deeply appreciate it.
Yesterday the Sharing Shelf (www.sharingshelf.org) sent individually-wrapped packages of holiday dresses, tights, shoes and even little pearls for the elementary-school-aged daughters of our pantry clients. Last week one of our volunteers had taken down all the sizes for the girls, so each package was destined for a particular girl. Parents of sons were disappointed, but the Sharing Shelf had also sent some coats to donate, so those parents took something home to their sons also. They are a wonderful organization, and all volunteer! They reach throughout Westchester to help needy families with clothing, diapers, feminine hygiene products, etc. If you’re looking for a place to donate children’s clothing, this is it.
Tuesday evening at South Church is when a team of volunteers collects fresh produce and puts it all into bags to be given out the next morning. It’s amazing what a well-oiled machine they are. And this past Tuesday was the first time that a couple of volunteers were able to pick up some donations from Mom’s Organic Market (83 Stanley Avenue, Dobbs Ferry, in the Rivertowns Square shopping mall). They’re a brand new market and they already reached out to us to see how they could help. Our hopes are high that they can provide us with organic produce for our clients!
This Saturday, March 20, from 11:00 to 1:00 is the Ardsley United Methodist Church’s big food drive for the pantry, together with the Ardsley Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. The Scouts have been collecting for this drive at Stop & Shop for several weeks, and they’ll bring whatever they gather from that bin to Ardsley Methodist, so we should have a lot of food to carry us through the next few weeks. AUMC has been our friend for years and years, and we especially appreciate the Ardsley Methodist Women for running these food drives for us many times. A hug to you all!
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Molly Rodriguez, Co-Director Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry 914-522-1154
Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry 