September 2025

The pantry T-shirt is popular with volunteers and supporters.

Mark Your Calendar: A Fundraiser with Live Music
Sunday, September 14 from 2–4pm
Greetings from Anywhere musicians have long performed in the city and around the Hudson Valley, blending folk, blues, bluegrass and country into a roots-rock hybrid. We’re thrilled that they’re hosting a fundraiser for the pantry at South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry. This is a fantastic way to celebrate the end of summer. Tickets are $35.

Thank you!
Despite the brutally hot, humid and sometimes rainy weather this summer, the pantry has continued to provide high quality, nutritious food for up to 100 families a week. This comes about through the hard work of many people.

First of all, it could not be done without the support of church groups, synagogues, school groups, scouts, retail establishments and community members who donate time, work and money to make it happen. In August alone we received large donations from Elmwood Day Camp and Ardsley United Methodist Church, long-term supporters of the pantry.

Leora and crew from Elmwood Day Camp recently dropped off this large donation.

There was also a very successful fundraiser at Hudson Social with delicious food, an unbeatable view and live music by The Hendersons.

Meet The Hendersons. From left, Bruce Callai on bass, Jim Heimbuch on drums and Jonathan King on guitar. Despite the hot weather, a great time was had by all and the pantry raised much needed money.

Ron DiRusso, Paul Monte, Heidi Ravis, Stuart Sacks, Leslie Crowe, Donna Assumma, pantry co-director, and Dan Crowe helped raise money for the pantry while having fun listening to The Hendersons.

Tess McDade, Sudha Reddy, Vincent McDade, Shawn Distefano, Patti Straub and Anilla Cherian join in the fun at Hudson Social.

A big Thank You to the musicians, and owners and staff at Hudson Social for making this all possible.

In August we also had a visit from Ciara Mulligan from Feeding Westchester, a food bank and one of our largest providers, who spoke to pantry volunteers about the impact of reduced federal support to food banks.

We are already seeing this in smaller shipments and more limited selection in our weekly deliveries from Feeding Westchester. Future reductions in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and Medicaid will hit our clients hard. Ciara also reported on Feeding Westchester’s advocacy efforts.

Volunteers Mary Toomy and Ken Perry, Ciara Mulligan of Feeding Westchester, and volunteer Bijal Das.

As much of the pantry’s work goes on behind the scenes, we thought it would be helpful to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

Q. How did the pantry start?
In 2011 a small group of parishioners at South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry recognized that families in the area were having trouble providing enough food for their families. What started as a mission of the church has grown to be a community-wide effort, but it is still housed at the church.

Q. Who are the clients?
They’re our neighbors and friends who live in a designated area. They are young, old, families, singles, disabled, working, not working, some are new to the community, others have lived here for generations.

Q. Where does the food come from?
Much of it comes from Feeding Westchester, but their supplies have been reduced and so we now need to buy more food. Some items are donated by Stop & Shop, Panera Bread and Sunshine Bagels, and a huge amount comes from donations and food drives from local organizations. Some seasonal produce comes from the garden of Roots & Wings, the sustainable food initiative of South Presbyterian Church.

Please help us continue this important work. You can support the pantry by donating shelf-stable food, cleaning products and personal care items and putting them in the bin outside the church, or shop our Amazon wishlist. Organize a food drive at your school, club, office or neighborhood; here are tips on how to do it. And we welcome monetary donations via our website.