Food Shelf News
We wish Happy Holidays to the generous Charlotte community. Fitting for the season, our list of special thanks is long.
Thank you to Wolf Den Scout Pack 607 Shelburne/Charlotte for homemade candy, cookies and the great laughs provided by their hand-written jokes that were added to Thanksgiving gift boxes.
Thank you to students Julia, Will and Matthew Lollis and Wendy Bratt for baking biscuits, cookies and muffins and also for decorating all the Thanksgiving boxes that were made up from scratch at the Food Shelf. Thanks to Food Shelf shoppers and to coordinator Peggy Sharpe, who were busy gathering needed items to give each box a personal touch.
Friday morning, Nov. 16, was a big wet snow event, and a grateful thank you to all the volunteers who made it over to the Charlotte Congregational Church hall to organize in preparation of the holiday box pick up: Pat Rodar, Kerrie Pughe, Susie Therrien, Nanci Bloch, Elaine Ittleman, Holly Rochefort and John Lavigne. Some made it a family project: Diane and Emile Cote, Nina and Ken Oboz, Ron and Waverly Purdum, Janet and Gary Landrigan, Cindy and Toby Tyler, Bill and Karen Doris, and mom and daughter teams Liz and Noelle DesLauriers and Kelly and Hadley Stockwell. Thanks to Suzanne Ferland for all the breads and cookies—and for keeping the coffee bar going for the volunteers. Thanks to Gregg Banse for delivering fresh baked bread.
Thank you for the generous home kitchens at this busy time of year. All the baked items of sweets, cookies and pies provided by the Front Porch Bakers for the Thanksgiving boxes were greatly appreciated.
A really big thank you to Charlotte Central School teachers, students, parents and CCS Holiday Basket coordinator Kris Gerson for completing gift boxes early in anticipation of the winter storm that closed the school: 12 dinner boxes filled to the top with everything to make delicious fare to go with the donated turkeys from the Charlotte/Shelburne Rotary. The CCS boxes were decorated with fall colors and topped with long-legged turkey tabletop center pieces.
With Thanksgiving box distribution and the Repair Café in full swing, the Congregational Church was a beehive of activity on Nov. 17. Transition Town Charlotte organized the Repair Cafe, with the Charlotte Grange, the Charlotte Library and the Charlotte Congregational Church as co-sponsors. Thank you to chief organizer Ruah Swennerfelt and to all the fixer volunteers for making possible the large donation of nonperishable food and $224. Although there was no charge for “the fixing,” donations of non-perishables or money to the Charlotte Food Shelf were suggested—and accepted with gratitude.
Special thanks for financial support go to Hugh and Leslie Lewis, in memory of Cowboy and Arline Lewis and Father Gerald Ragis; to the Mittelstadt family, in honor of neighbor and Food Shelf baking coordinator Holly Rochefort; to Louise McCarren, in honor of Hazel Ware and another donation in honor of her sister Mollie Moroney’s birthday. Thank you to Jeffery Berkowitz and Kristen Wright, Jonathan Hayden, Diane and Peter Rosenfeld, Linda Hamilton, Susan and James Hyde, Merilyn Burrington, Charles and Liz DesLauriers, Anne Castle, Meredith and Peter Moses, Laura Cahners-Ford, Evan Metropoulos, Colleen Armstrong, Waitsfield ChamplainValley Telecom, and Nancy Wood (who sends a wish for a Merry Christmas to all the volunteers).
Thank you to our anonymous Santa for his tradition of purchasing movie tickets for all the children.
Thank you to the Burlington Meals on Wheels for the grant to continue its mission of providing healthy food to our most vulnerable community friends.
Thank you to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and Charlotte Congregational Church members for their purchases of holiday food items and for all the Giving Tree gifts so beautifully wrapped for the children. Thank you to Ruth St George, Colleen Armstrong, Denise and Bob Danyow, Kelly Stockwell, Diane and Emile Cote, the Richards family, the Tierney family, Ann Marie Plank, Eileen Curtis, the Bernier family, Sue Haman, Rosemary Cartulero, Celia Cazayoux and Kathy Gallagher for your support to the children.
Thank you to the Charlotte/Shelburne Rotary for the Hams for the Holiday, an ongoing tradition since the inception of the Charlotte Food Shelf.
Anyone in the holiday baking mood? Maybe you’re making some cookies for Santa? We would love it if you would bake a bit extra and share it with our Hunger is Hard, Baking is Easy program at the Food Shelf. We will be putting holiday boxes together on Dec. 13, so donations by Wednesday, Dec. 12, would be greatly appreciated. These can be dropped off directly at the Congregational Church or at 86 Spear Street in the box on the front porch. If you have any questions or concerns about what to bake, please contact Holly Rochefort at [email protected].
Important Distribution Dates
Holiday Gift Box set up by volunteers: Friday, Dec. 14, 8:00 a.m.
Holiday Gift Box Pick-Up: Saturday, Dec. 15, 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
January Distribution Dates
Wednesday, Jan. 9, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 10, 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Financial Assistance
As a reminder, the Food Shelf has some funds available for emergency assistance with fuel and electric bills. You may contact Cindi at (802) 425-3234 if you need assistance.
We are available 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.
Donations
We are a volunteer organization so all donations you make to the Food Shelf go directly for food and/or assistance to our local neighbors in need. Should you wish to honor someone with a donation, a special acknowledgement will be sent to that person. Checks may be mailed to Charlotte Food Shelf & Assistance, P.O. Box 83, Charlotte, VT 05445. Thank you.
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. Please check food expiration dates. 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 on bulletin boards in the Charlotte Congregational Church Hall, at the Charlotte Library and at the Charlotte Senior Center. You may also call the Food Shelf at (802) 425-3252 for a recording of the distribution times.