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Last Saturday, nearly 100 families were given Thanksgiving food baskets from the Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf. The effort that goes into the Thanksgiving distribution is awesome and a wonderful example of our community’s generosity.
It takes a village to put together the makings of a Thanksgiving dinner for nearly 100 families. Lots of turkeys had to be collected from people willing to donate one and bring it to the Food Shelf. One local elementary school offered to collect stuffing mix, a neighborhood collected cranberry sauce, a faith formation program collected brownie and cake mix. One Penfield resident called the Food Shelf to ask what else was needed-- she just wanted to help. A few days later, she dropped off tons of canned gravy and jello.
Little by little, with everyone doing what they could, it all came together for Saturday’s distribution-- like a giant pot of Stone Soup.
The Food Shelf reminds me that you don’t have to be Bill Gates or Warren Buffet to make a huge difference in this world. Most of the time, it’s the very small efforts we put forth that have far reaching effects-- ripples on a pond. One family donating one 10 lb. turkey has huge effect on the family that was facing a Thanksgiving Day without one. One school’s effort to collect stuffing mix took care of about 100 families! It all adds up and everyone makes a difference.
The generosity of our Penfield community--that’s what I’m thankful for this year. Thank you to everyone who supports the Food Shelf on a continual basis.
More to come about the Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf, as the winter holidays are soon upon us.....
Marie Cinti lives with her husband and two children in Penfield. A former college academic advisor and school counselor, she is passionate about community service and blogs about life in Penfield, books, events, and more. She enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and geocaching. If you have an idea for her blog, please email Marie at sfinkels@rochester.rr.com.
