“Oh! — fruit loved of boyhood! — the old days recalling…
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!”
— John Greenleaf Whittier, The Pumpkin
In my 79 years, I’ve come across only one friend who didn’t like to eat. Sure, John knew he had to eat to live, but he didn’t live to eat. For the rest of us, food does more than nourish our bodies. We associate it with breaking bread with family or friends, pleasures derived from trying new recipes or sampling new cuisines, celebrating holidays and the changing seasons and the nostalgia of childhood.
This month my thoughts turned again to pumpkins and apple cider, to say nothing of pumpkin and apple cider donuts. Next month, I’ll turn my attention to turkey, stuffing and my favorite pecan pie recipe. Anticipating writing this newsletter, I imagined how it would feel to have to tighten my belt and forego some of my favorite autumn foods. Then I thought about our neighbors who visit the pantry and who, even if their traditions call for mac & cheese, sweet potato pie or arroz con gandules instead of roast turkey, may need to scale back this year.
You don’t need me to tell you about food insecurity in our backyard. The Rivertowns Dispatch has run a series of weekly articles detailing the local need and the work of the DF Pantry and other community groups. If you’re like me, you receive texts, emails and/or snail mail from Feeding Westchester almost daily about cuts to their funding and to the SNAP program. The situation will likely get worse as furloughed government employees – yes, there are some in Westchester – visit the pantry for the first time and our neighbors begin to feel the impact of the cuts to SNAP.
Today, I’d like to thank some of the people and organizations who have partnered with us this month in our efforts to address the need that we all recognize in our community. We are so grateful for your commitment.
October started off with another carload of items from our friends at Woodlands Community Temple.
Regular donations also come Scarsdale Woman’s Club.
Like clockwork in the middle of each month, Ken Stahl and the folks at Ardsley United Methodist Church organize a drive-by collection of food and money. This month’s bounty was particularly generous, and we appreciate the ongoing generosity of all the anonymous donors as well as the hard work of Ken and his team.
Also in late October, Feeding Westchester, Westchester County and Stop & Shop partnered for the 7th annual “Stuff-a-Bee-Line-Bus” campaign to help fight hunger. Our pantry benefited from the bin set up at the local Stop & Shop. Thank you to all who contributed.
Speaking of Stop & Shop, did you know we also have an opportunity this month to purchase a Give Back reusable shopping bag and direct a $1 donation to the DF Food Pantry?
Ongoing donations come from so many other sources too, including donors to our Amazon wish list, a weekly produce item from Temple Beth Shalom in Hastings and collections from Dobbs Ferry’s Zion Episcopal Church and Dobbs Ferry Lutheran Church. Our neighbors love the delicious bounty from Mom’s Organic Market (goat milk yogurt, anyone?) as well as bagels and baked goods from Stop & Shop, Panera Bread, The Shop and Sunshine Bagels.
We couldn’t offer the amount and variety – including the occasional birthday cake or gourmet EVOO – without you!
Circling back to my opening comments, if I made you hungry for apple-cider donuts, let me direct you to NY Times Cooking’s excellent Baked Apple Cider Donuts – no deep frying required.
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Ellen Milhan Klein took a break from her baking long enough to write this month’s newsletter
Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry 