Food Shelf News

Gorgeous cookies baked for the Christmas baskets. Photo contributed.

Thank you
Boxes overflowing with food, gifts and extras were distributed to 26 Charlotte families (including 31 children) for the holidays! Thank you to the volunteers who helped us to assemble the baskets: Jon Davis, Wolfie Davis, Laura Iglehart, Licia Brown, Carol Chenevert, Stephanie Wells, Sage Bagnato, Pam Dawson, Cindi Robinson, John Lavigne, Kerrie Pughe, Holly Rochefort, Sandy Armell, Jim and Susan Hyde, Susan Ohanian, Victoria Rosen, Liz DesLauriers, Katharine Cohen, Ronald Purdum, Diane Cote, Pat Rodan, Libby Manning, Dicey Manning, Bill and Karen Doris, Tara Mullen, Renny Manning, Sue Hall and Nancy Bloch. Thank you to Dicey Manning and Coco Eyre for setting up baking and snack bags.

A special thank you to Laura Iglehart for organizing the children’s gifts. And thank you to those who contributed gifts from the Wishing Trees. The boxes were overflowing with wishes come true. Thank you to the Frank Beck family and Wow Toyzs for the toy donations. Thank you to The Flying Pig Bookstore for sponsoring the Snowflake Book program again this year to include children’s books in the holiday baskets.

We’d like to thank Tracey Beaudin for the hand-decorated Christmas cookies and Mrs. Gerson’s 2nd graders for pumpkin-cranberry bread. Secret Santa provided movie tickets again this year! We appreciate the apple donations from Steve and Jane Anne Kantor and the turkey donation from Valerie Graham. Thank you to Dalu Acres Farm of Charlotte for donating 20 bars of Cabot cheese and to Bud Lawrence for donating potatoes.

Thanks to Steve Epstein for the quinoa and mung beans and to Jason and Henry Bushey for the baked goods and juice. And thank you to EatingWell for its food drive, which collected 12 large boxes of kids’ snacks, cereal and nonperishable items for January distribution. Thank you to Jason and Andrea Harvey for donating a deer dressed and packaged, always well received by families.

Boy Scout Stuart Robinson came on Saturday along with Zack Aubin, Keagan Bothwell and Seth Zimmerman to help distribute the boxes. Cindy Tyler, Pat Rodar, Nina Falsen, Ken Oboz, John Lavigne, Ron Purdum, Cindi Robinson and Bill Doris assisted as well. They greeted the families with coffee and cider on a cold morning warmed by lots of smiles. There were plenty of grateful parents who sent many thank yous to all the community members who supported this great effort to provide generous gifts of food and gifts to our neighbors in need.

We appreciate the donations from Carleen Tufo, Beth and Edd Merritt, Birgit and Andy Deeds, Global Marine Transportation Services Inc., Robert and Toni Monsey, Diane and Peter Rosenfeld, Jr. and Leslie Lewis (in memory of Cowboy and Arline Lewis, as well as Father Gerald Ragis, Nancy and Jack Barnes, Joseph and Jennifer Dickerman, Trudy Gecewicz Jordan, Marie Luhr, Charlotte Congregational Mission Committee and Congregation members, Donna and Remo Pizzagalli (in honor Roberta Wood), Nora Wright (in memory of Joan Cawley), Peter and Meredith Moses, Julian Kulski, Linda Hamilton, Erin and Andrew Ross, Helen Toor, Walter and Joan Gates, Chris and Suzanne Davis, Shelburne-Charlotte Garden Club, Jeffrey Horbar, James and Kathleen Manchester, David Perrin, Larry Sommers and the matching funds from EatingWell.

Thank you to Carrie Spear and Spear Corner Store customers for the donations! A big thank you to our generous anonymous donor who donated cash to be included in each family holiday basket as well as a donation to help us keep our shelves filled!

Baking for the Food Shelf
Holly Rochefort has started a local chapter of “Hunger is Hard, Baking is Easy” and hopes to provide fresh baked goods year-round for our twice monthly distributions.  Please contact her at 802-238-8035if you are interested in baking for Food Shelf families this year. Thank you to Holly and the volunteer bakers for providing the beautiful baked goods for the holiday baskets.

Will you volunteer?
We are looking for volunteers who can act as substitutes on our distribution days as well as volunteers to help us stack shelves once a month. Please call Karen Doris at (802) 425-3252 if you can help. This is a wonderful opportunity to work with a small group of committed individuals who are making a difference at a local level.

Welcome new volunteers Tara Mullen and Ronald Purdum!

Wish list
We appreciate donations of healthy after-school snacks for children such as dried fruit, granola bars, instant oatmeal packs, butter-free popcorn, salt-free nuts, canned fruit in juice, peanut butter, juice boxes (no sugar added), and low-sodium soups. In addition we need spaghetti sauce, crackers, Cheerios and Rice Krispies cereals, pancake mix and tea.

Donations
We are a volunteer organization, so all donations you make to the Food Shelf go directly for food and assistance to our local neighbors in need. Thank you so much for considering donating today. Checks may be mailed to Charlotte Food Shelf & Assistance, P.O. Box 83, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Donated food drop-off locations
All nonperishable food donations may be dropped off at the Charlotte Library, the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (main entrance) or at the Food Shelf during the distribution mornings. We request that all fresh foods be dropped off at the Food Shelf before the Wednesday distribution hours or before 7:30 a.m. on the Thursday distribution mornings.

The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on the lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. Distribution days/times are posted in this newspaper and on the bulletin board in the Charlotte Congregational Church Hall. You may also call the Food Shelf number (425-3252) for a recording of the distribution times. 

We are open to all community residents.  Privacy is very important and respected in our mission of neighbor helping neighbor.

For emergency food call John at (802) 425-3130.
For emergency assistance (electricity, fuel) call Cindi at (802) 425-3234.
For more information call Karen at (802) 425-3252.

Important Upcoming 2018 Charlotte Food Shelf Distribution Dates
Wednesdays, Jan. 17 and Feb. 7 and 21, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Thursdays, Jan. 18 and Feb. 8 and 22, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.