June 10, 2024 newsletter

 

Good morning friends! There's so much to tell you about this week! We had a wonderful Friday evening gathering, with some new faces joining us “regulars” for social time and a meal together. It was a lively group, followed by a busy morning at the pantry. You'll see in one of the attached pictures, that we also had our Craft Gathering. Here, Debbie E is getting set up with Tina S's help. Debbie demonstrated some applique techniques needed to make beautiful wool fabric decorative pieces.

As summer starts, some of our activities wind down a bit, and others gear up! I heard from our friend Jess R from Boston Area Gleaners at Stonefield Farm in Acton. Sometime in July, we should begin to be able to pick up boxes of produce each week. This is always an exciting time, when we never know what we'll be able to offer each week in our pantry produce bags, but it's always something fresh and local! BAG is having a special event on June 22 at the Farm (flyer attached). If you've ever wanted to go and visit, this would be a great opportunity. Introduce yourself to Jess, and let her know you are a supporter :-)

I also had nice exchanges with Elaine S and Carol S, who do literacy tutoring. Elaine works on reading comprehension, and Carol focuses on math. These two lovely people have given countless hours of volunteer time to help some folks in our community. Math is going to take a summer break, but reading is going to continue through, but on a more relaxed schedule. I'm so thankful that the need and the solution came together so beautifully in these ongoing relationships!

Last week I mentioned that I am looking for a volunteer for a new(ish) project. Several people inquired, and I realized that I really should have given more details than 1. needing to be really organized and 2. liking to talk with people! I am looking for a food drive coordinator, someone who would be comfortable approaching people to inquire about them holding an event (exactly what type of event that is would be completely flexible) in their neighborhood, business, church, civic group, etc. We need someone who is sensitive to the fact that many people are already tapped out: we don't want to burden people who are already donating heavily, either to us, to another pantry, or to other charitable organizations. I believe that the right person is out there, and that you are creative and love meeting people. Please email or message me if that's you!

If you are able to shop for us this week, we would very much appreciate some of the products that are in high demand going into summer: boxed mac + cheese, small boxes of plain instant potatoes, canned pasta like spaghettios, canned fruit in juice, spaghetti pasta, spaghetti sauce, and 18oz containers of plain oatmeal. Also toilet paper and size 4 diapers! And as always, anything from our complete list that you find on sale is gratefully welcome! We'll be at the pantry on Wednesday from 10 to noon, Friday from 4 to 5:30, and Saturday from 9 to noon for drop-offs. And the bin is always available at Shop n' Save if those times don't suit. Please leave a note in the bag with your name so we know whom to thank.

Have a great and glorious week, and thank you so much to all of you!