July 13, 2026 newsletter

 

Good morning! We had an extremely busy weekend, but it was also very satisfying in that we were able to help a LOT of people. The farm owned by the Boston Area Gleaners is ramping up for the season, and we received our first full shipment of produce. Nonetheless, we needed more than we had. The last two people to visit the pantry on Saturday had to be satisfied with gift cards to go purchase their own produce. So even though no one went away empty-handed, it wasn't ideal. Some of the surge in our numbers is probably due to our being closed on the 4th, but we shall see!

If you'd like to help us out with produce, have questions about your own gardening efforts, or need a hand with harvesting, don't forget about our gardening guru Rachel! She and her team can help you out. You can contact her at rachelsunflower01432 at gmail dot com We super-appreciate our friends Andy, Bethany, and others at Shepherd of the Valley who share produce with us each week from their community garden plot, and we also are greatly indebted to Alison, Rich, and Nicole, who pick up produce from various points for us so faithfully!

I can't share all of the details of the next item that I really want to tell you about because of privacy issues, but here's what I can say: We have a friend who was in extreme distress on Friday, and we wanted to try to help them out over the weekend. There was a place that we wanted to get them into, but when we arrived, it was unattended. We called for help and were told to "wait a minute." Fifteen minutes later, we learned that they were completely full for the weekend. But then a voice piped up from behind us and said that they were there just to cancel their reservation, so we could have it! The owner of that voice had come in about 5 minutes earlier and was waiting patiently behind us. We acknowledge that we had no control over this situation, and I don't know what we would have done if it hadn't worked out the way it did:

• If I had called first, we wouldn't have gone there.
  
  
• There was really no other feasible or affordable place to go, given our friend's circumstances.
  
  
• If the attendant had been available immediately, the other guest wouldn't have come in time to cancel their reservation so we could have it.

If you can shop for us this week, we seem to always be in need of several items: boxes of instant potatoes, 16 oz canisters of oatmeal, and adult diapers in size LARGE. Please email me if you need our complete pantry list or you want our QR code for online donations. We can take drop-offs at the pantry (through the gray door next to the parking lot on Cambridge Street) on Wednesdays from 10 to noon, Fridays from 4 to 5, and Saturdays only from 9 to 10. Please do not leave food at the door outside of these hours. The bin is always available at Ayer 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! We are located at 21 Washington Street, Suite C, Ayer MA 01432

Thank you to all of you for your support. We are so grateful!