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Dear Members, This will be our last newsletter until September when I will
continue with Dutchess County Food Pantries' information.
To bring everyone up-to-date on the food closet:
As everyone knows by now, the walk-in freezer and cooler are
both not working. The meat is being held in the two chest
freezers along with a limited amount of bread. Eggs are in the
tiny apartment size refrigerator.
The long story is:
The walk-in units were installed in the pantry in the early
1980s. The walk-in freezer has been notoriously unreliable and
has become more so in recent years. On April 3, 2005, the unit
developed a leak and the items in the freezer began to defrost.
We moved only the solidly frozen meat into the two chest freezers and
threw out the rest. The unit was recharged and deemed fit for
service. Tuesday we moved some meat back into the
walk-in. By Friday, the meat was soft again. We threw away
the meat, cheese, stuffed shells, fish sticks, turkey rolls, venison,
etc. The total for the two times we threw away items was
approximately $2000.
That weekend the freezer became stuck in defrost mode
and reached 100 degrees. The cooler is wired into the freezer so
both had to be turned off. Because of the age and the
unreliability issue, we have decided to go in a different direction
with two triple door reach-in freezers and one double door reach-in
refrigerator. With three separate units, only one will go bad at
a time, hopefully!!
The removal of the walk-ins will begin next week ( May 2 or
so) and the new equipment should be in place in three weeks.
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The pantry is still functioning though with less
items. As workmen progress in the dismantling, you could be
asked to come back to feed a family at a better time. We
don't anticipate this happening but we want to forewarn
you.
Second, the school supplies for your client families will
become available in August. Please feel free to take the items as
they are put out on shelves in the hallway. This way it won't be
a problem clearing the hallway in time for the school's opening in
September.
Third, if anyone would like to help with emergency shopping
for the Holiday Baskets, please call Linda Hunt at the SVDP Hotline
227-7863.
Fourth, our next meeting is May 11th and our June meeting will be June 15 which
is the third Wednesday of the month. We will be off schedule for
this one meeting ONLY. June is also our last meeting until
September 14.
Fifth, if anyone has keys for the pantry that are not being
used, please return the keys to Carole. Thanks.
Lastly, it is with deep sadness that I report the passing of
Mike Nardelli. Mike was a long-time member who helped so many
people along the way. There was nothing too small or too large
for him to tackle. He is sorely missed.
The Society will have a memorial mass for Mike on St. Vincent de
Paul's Feast Day - September 27, 2005 - 12 noon at St.
Columba Church.
Sincerely, Carole Grafer, President
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St. Vincent de Paul Society The meeting came to order at 7:05 PM. The minutes were read and accepted. Carole read a prayer from the late Pope John Paul II. In attendance for tonight's meeting were, Jack Kiely, Joanne and Chuck Bunnell, Betty Riggio, Barbara Yannaco, Bill and Carole Grafer, Linda Boysen, Linda Hunt, JoAnne DiSalvo, and Nick Dono. We welcome Dave and Kathy Palmer. Our HPNAP report is as follows: 51 households were helped, 111 children, 106 adults and 77 elderly. We gave out 77 Easter baskets this year. Blessed Kateri held a second collection for us and collected approximately $3000. Blessed Kateri’s CCD collected items that cannot be purchased with food stamps. On a sad note, Mike Nardeli, one of our founding members, passed away on March 26. SVDP will have a memorial mass for him on September 27, at 12 noon. Chuck looked into our answering machine problem and has decided to watch the problem for awhile. The current machine is much more sophisticated than what can currently be purchased. On our last shopping trip, we spent $1098.55 on 1900 pounds of food. The next trip will depend on whether or not the coolers are repaired or new ones purchased. Linda attended the Parish Counsel meeting and gave us a detailed report. Joanne met with the St. Denis Outreach and Community Service and relayed her notes to us. She asked the committee for some ideas to help us out with the holiday baskets. Two suggestions were to ask for more food donations to fill some of the baskets and have a few CCD classes to combine their donations for one or more of the baskets. Our immediate problem is our 22 year old walk-in freezer and cooler that are no longer in service. Quite a bit of food was trashed because of it. Ideal Refrigeration was called to work on it and within 3 days the unit broke down again. And again, more of the frozen foods were dumped due to safety concerns. Carole proposed that we take out both walk-in units and purchase two tri-door freezers and one refrigerator. This will leave us room to add a work table to the pantry.
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To do this it will involve a take down cost and an overhaul of the electrical system. Plus, while these changes are taking place, Carole suggested that we paint the walls, add new flooring and try to salvage the walk-in units. There was a unanimous vote of yes to have Carole mandate these ideas. If and when the new units are installed, we may have to restrict access to the pantry for a short time. A notice will be posted on the pantry door. We will try to coordinate with the workmen so that your client families can be serviced with no problems. Someone suggested that we inform our clients of other food pantries in the area. Last on our agenda is the OSP money. The money will be used for the next three trips to the food distribution center. Our next meeting will be on May 11. Hope to see everyone there. The meeting came to a close at 8:35 PM. Our intentions for tonight are for all those who were mentioned. May God watch over them. Submitted by Emily Berberich. SVDP Meeting Schedule May 11, 2005 June 15, 2005 September 14, 2005 Our meetings are open to all and we welcome new members. We meet in St. Denis/St. Columba school library at 7 PM. LINDA'S CORNER
Hi to all and many thanks for all of your help and to my committee who always works so hard for our families in need. To all our members who work behind the scenes to help make the holiday baskets a success. Thank you Carol and Bill for putting up with me. Thank you to the boy scouts for all your help we couldn't have done it without you. We are blessed to have your help. At Easter I gave out 77 baskets. With all that is going on in the food closet, we are unable to hold any baskets for any clients at basket time. There just isn't enough room. Also this summer I will be sending out a letter asking for up to date information on your clients. Any one that does not give me the information, their clients will not receive a holiday basket. We will then be responsible for giving them food for the holiday. Thank you for your cooperation. Also thank you Jack Nick ,Chuck and Joanne for all your continued support. Thank you Carol and Bill for all you do. We are truly blessed. |