Nothing stops Food Share
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
Excessive heat will not be stopping the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse’s Food Share July 2.
Those in line at the drive-through distribution will have AC in their vehicles but not so for the working volunteers.
Coffeehouse Vice President and Food Share organizer Bruce Hay said he is having two large commercial fans brought in to help the volunteers. In addition he will have water available for the volunteers and he said he will be insisting that the volunteers taking breaks and hydrate.
Generally he has maybe 60 volunteers who work at the food Share – held the first Thursday of the month. Maybe “one half to three quarters” are veterans.
This week, the new “regular” volunteers will include about five from the Putnam and the Brooklyn Walmarts. That’s lower than their usual full complement, because the stores have the 4th of July holiday bearing down on them.
Also an adjustment for the next nine-plus months for the Midwest New England Food Bank and Connecticut Food Share: Hay has let them know that they may as well start using Rt. 101 to Rt. 395 route to bring in the food. The state of Connecticut will — any day now — engage its detour around its Route 44 retaining wall project.
The two trucks come early on Thursdays. Hay does not know what food they are bringing until they get there. He quickly assesses what foods are on the truck and then organizes the volunteers to bag them up and distribute the bags around the stations at the farmers market pavilion for distribution.
Generally the lines are opened at 9:30 a.m.
He said he reminded them to keep with an early schedule. Last month one truck was late and that sent the waiting line very near Rt. 44 which causes traffic problem.
This week, Hay said, the banana boxes will be filled with cereal, baby food snacks, Twizlers, ramen noodles, mac and cheese, pasta, miscellaneous groceries, lime juice concentrate, coffee, waffle snacks, protein drinks, fruit smoothies, apple juice boxes, and apple juice bottles, applesauce, dried beans, peanut, vitamins and more.
The cereal comes from the competition Ellis Tech held, Hay said. The students gathered more than 300 boxes of cereal.
In addition, they will have soda from Windham Pepsi.
Last month the Food Share saw 338 cars come through. The record was 400-plus last November when SNAP benefits were cut.
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