Happy New Year to all! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and escaped the clutches of the Omicron virus. Several of our hearty volunteers encountered it, but bounced back to again help out at the pantry. The dedication of our team is so impressive.
If you are avid readers of our newsletter, you have grieved that we stopped doing weekly missives. We decided to go monthly to cut down on some of the tasks our volunteers do on a weekly basis. There are many behind the scenes activities we all do cheerfully.
This month we lucked out with the weather once again. Only one mean Wednesday that required us to put up tents and rotate volunteers from outdoor to indoor duties to keep fingers and toes attached. Despite the cold, we all want to make sure our neighbors are taken care of and feel respected. We appreciate getting positive feedback from those we support. Here’s one of the thank you notes we received.
Once again our dear friends at the Scarsdale Woman’s Club donated carloads of goods and many Stop and Shop gift cards. We give those cards out during special holidays, so after Christmas and Hanukkah we needed to replenish our resources. Huge thank you to Rosemary King and all the members of the club.
Ardsley United Methodist Church also came through for us again, Ken Stahn’s car was crammed with food and household products he took time to give us on a Sunday. We have enjoyed a long caring relationship with that congregation and we are forever grateful.
As part of Feeding Westchester, which receives food from the USDA, we had to be “inspected” by Monique McCoy, Manager for Agency Relations at Feeding Westchester. We, at the pantry, were eager to show her how proud we are of our operations and our wonderful team. Monique was incredibly impressed with the many stations we offer our neighbors that provide choice. This included our “breakfast table” where cereal, milk, eggs , butter and other items are rotated through. Mom’s Organic table, bread table- where bagels from The Shop in Ardsley and The New York Bagel Authority and Panera goods are there for the taking. And our famous “Freebie” table that always has a wide range of items, from condiments to paper products.
So, for the pantry the beginning of the year was a success. We continue to benefit from all your donations, both online and in person. Special thanks goes to our sustaining donors-we know we can really count on you!
May this year bring us all good health, compassionate caring and joy in the little things.
Be well, Vera.
Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry 