Gratitude for a generous community

This holiday season, Charlotte Food Shelf is so grateful for the community generosity that has helped support multiple households, including 26 children, who are in need. Hundreds of people, including teachers, shoppers, bakers, the young and the elderly, contributed to our community’s safety net, one that has brought basic sustenance, as well as warmth and joy.

Some of these are noted below; if we missed some contributors, please accept both our apology and gratitude.

Monetary donations were gratefully received from Robert and Toni Monsey, Aileen Kraus, Virginia Foster, Donna and Remo Pizzagalli (in honor of Roberta Wood), Jill Morse, Charlotte Shelburne Rotary, Charlotte Congregational Church, Mary Mead and Maurice Harvey, M. Teena and Richard Flood, Karen D. and William H. Bruett and the Windham Foundation, William Lockwood Jr., Katherine Arthaud, the Proutt Family Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, Valerie Graham and the Vermont Community Foundation, Sharon Richards and Douglas Weaver and the Richards Weaver Family Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, Cynthia Langley (in honor of grandson Parker Trono), Christy and John Hagios, Deborah Cook, Anne Castle, Ronda Moore DVM, Elizabeth Bassett and John Pane, Diane and Peter Rosenfeld, Suzanne Laurie and Steven Wisbaum, Lorna and Thomas Bates, Nancy Pricer, Helen Toor, Earthkeep Farmcommon, Karen and Bill Doris (in loving memory of Anne and William Doris Sr.), Aerodyme Corporation, Carleen Tufo, Elisabeth and Charles Deslauriers, Anne and John Mahoney, Horsford Gardens and Nursery, Backyard Bread, Lawrence Lehman and Kathleen Nolan, Sharon Mount and Barry Finette, Leslie Lewis and Hugh Lewis Jr. (in memory of Cowboy and Arline Lewis and Father G. Ragis), Rocki-Lee Dewitt and Paula and Peter Joslin.

In a creative spirit, several raffles were used to benefit the food shelf. The painted sled raffle, featuring a children’s sled painted by Alexandra Lehmann, raised funds from multiple participants. A World Cup pool at the Backyard Bistro facilitated a generous donation by Nigel Mucklow.

Donations also came from groups such as the Sanctuary Lane and Crosswind neighborhoods, represented by Heather and John Dwight, Loretta and Kirk Walters, Anne Kelton and Tomas Cosinuke, Carolyn and John Kovac, Eleanor and Mark Capeless, Jeanne Ladue-Sudbay, Rex and Lell Forehand, Kathleen and William Posey, Lenore and Myron Sopher, and Lynne and Robert Jaunich. The Polar Picklers and Lynne Cluff made a group donation that was much appreciated. Zero Gravity partnered with Backyard Bistro to raise additional funds for the food shelf that were gratefully received.

We thank many other individuals and organizations who made the holidays special for the children in our food shelf families.

Thanks to WowToyz of Vergennes who, year after year, graciously and generously donate toys thoughtfully geared to each child we serve.

Thanks to the Flying Pig Bookstore of Shelburne for including the Charlotte Food Shelf in its Snowflake Book Program, which provides each child with an age-appropriate book. This year, because of an anonymous donation by a Charlotte family to the Snowflake Program, each child received two books. We also thank Meaghin Kennedy for her gift of children’s holiday books.

Thanks to the congregants at Charlotte Congregational Church and Our Lady of Mount Carmel who participated in the Giving Tree Program, where individual congregants have the opportunity to select and grant the holiday wish for an individual child from our Food Shelf families. Thank you to Jim and Susan Hyde and Kelly Stockwell for coordinating the Giving Trees this year.

Thank you to Evan Metropoulos for his long-term commitment that provides a special surprise each year for each child.

Thank you to additional members of our community who contributed to making this such a special holiday. These contributions came in the form of time, toys and gift cards including Laura Iglehart, Susan Iglehart, Jon Davis, Wolfie Davis, Amy Rohrbaugh, Ava Rohrbaugh, Amy Harrison, Stephanie Wells, Susanne and Chris Davis, Cindi Robinson, Julie Wetzel, Sage Bagnato, Karen Frost, Angela DeSanctis, Deenie Galipeau, AnneMarie Andriola, Kelly Stockwell, Amanda Herzberger, Carol Chenevert and Champlain Valley Union High students Nik Blasius, Linnie Goldsmith, Grace Murray and Claire Lyons. A special thank you is offered to Ava Rohrbaugh for her embroidery skills and Betty Meng for her infant care items, as well as to Tim Palmer for delivering gift certificates for our seniors from the HAMS senior meal program.

Food donations have been gratefully received each month by parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in response to our monthly wish list. We also appreciate donations of honey from Jen Slater, Cabot Cheese from an anonymous family, vegetables from Ms. Lubic and from the Adams Berry Farm, venison from Andrea and Jason Harvey and various foodstuffs from a food drive organized by Charlotte Community School eighth graders Dana’e and Serena. In addition, Holly Rochefort‘s coordination of bakers who provided enormous donations of fresh baked muffins, bars, cookies and candies made the holiday baskets special. Charlotte Central School’s donation of nonperishables for the baskets was a wonderful continuation of a lovely tradition, and we thank teachers, students and their families for these gifts.

In continuation of another lovely 20-year tradition, Horsford Gardens and Nursery donated balsam wreaths with red velvet bows, accentuating the beauty of the season.

As we now move into 2023, we thank the community, including anonymous donors, and hope that this year will bring kindness to us all.

Winter brings special economic challenges. Please know that help is available to residents of Charlotte and North Ferrisburgh if you or someone you know is facing utility shut-off or an unexpected hardship. Simply call 802-425-3252 or fill out a request form. Request forms are available during food shelf open hours or on our website. All requests and grants are kept private.

The food shelf is open for Food Distribution from 4-6 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Our address is 403 Church Hill Road behind the Congregational Church in Charlotte. Masking is encouraged during the ongoing pandemic and its new virus variants. For emergency food, please call John at 802-425-3130. If you cannot come to the food shelf due to COVID symptoms or seek further information about the food shelf, please call 802-425-3252.

Monetary donations are appreciated, tax deductible and can be addressed to: Charlotte Food Shelf, Inc., P.O. Box 83, Charlotte VT 05445.