| Dear Friends,
Is anyone else having this weird feeling like 2021 and 2020 were just a big, amorphous blob of time and almost nothing makes sense? It can't just be me! Sometimes, I think that the only thing that DOES make sense is our crew and our organization's commitment to our three buckets of work: Growing Food, Empowering Youth, and Connecting Community.
Two of those buckets are encapsulated in the Food For the People food pantry. In partnership with the Health Improvement Collaborative, the city of New London, and L&M Hospital, FRESH started this pop-up pantry a year and a half ago, as a response to Covid-19. And here we are, so many months later, still distributing food to over 200 families every Wednesday afternoon! It feels like we just started it, and that we've been doing it for years and years. Of course, we've had to reevaluate and change our practices as the pandemic has proceeded, with the latest shift being that the pantry is now drive-through only; people stay in their cars, and we place the boxes in their trunk. It seems to be running smoothly, and we have most of the kinks worked out.
Another change is that Esther Pendola, who originally worked directly for L&M, has transitioned to being a member of the FRESH team. The pantry would absolutely NOT be possible without this superstar, and we're so glad that we were able to find a way keep everything going! Read on to see some shots of our work, and to meet Esther.
We're committed to help keep the pantry running through the end of this year, and then, who knows? It may be time for another big shift!
Stay safe out there, friends!
Oh, and a final thing: we're closing out our 144 Envelopes Challenge on January 31! So, there's still time to participate!
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