Student-Run Drive Benefits Food Pantry

Print More
Emily Fabrizi (center), a sophomore at Suffield High School, holds a bottle of shampoo she collected for the Crossroads Food Pantry. With her in Fellowship Hall at the West Suffield Congregational Church are two volunteers from the food pantry, Miriam Blackaby (left) and Mary Calkins.

Photo by Dan Phelon

Emily Fabrizi (center), a sophomore at Suffield High School, holds a bottle of shampoo she collected for the Crossroads Food Pantry. With her in Fellowship Hall at the West Suffield Congregational Church are two volunteers from the food pantry, Miriam Blackaby (left) and Mary Calkins.

Emily Fabrizi, daughter of Paul and Darlene Fabrizi of West Suffield, has learned a great lesson in life about helping others. As part of her Confirmation at St. Mary Church in Windsor Locks, Emily needed to fulfill a service requirement and chose to organize a “shampoo and conditioner drive” last spring to benefit the patrons of the Crossroads Food Pantry. The drive, which was done at Suffield High School where Emily was a freshman last year, was a success. At the end of the school year she delivered several cartons of full size shampoos and conditioners to Crossroads Food Pantry that were distributed to patrons in July. This donation was extremely important for the food pantry and its patrons as non-food items such as soaps and shampoos cannot be purchased through Foodshare, and their cost is much more. Crossroads is thankful to Emily for organizing this drive and for the generosity of those who contributed to it.

The Crossroads Food Pantry is an all-volunteer food pantry and is located at the West Suffield Congregational Church at 1408 Mountain Rd. in West Suffield. It is sustained by grants and monetary donations that allow it to purchase low-cost foods from Foodshare and other retailers and through projects like Emily’s. The pantry provides an average of 35 pounds of food to 100 families each month and relies on many volunteers from the community to help transport, sort, stack and distribute the food. Many local farmers and businesses also donate fresh produce, eggs and bread. Without this collective support, the pantry would not have been able to provide for those in need over the past four years.

Donations are always accepted and greatly appreciated. Canned and dry food donations that have not reached their expiration date may be dropped off at the rear of the church in one of the two containers near the back door. Monetary donations may be mailed to: Crossroads Food Pantry, P.O. Box 26, West Suffield, CT 06093.

The pantry has been open from 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month but has just been notified by Foodshare that they are revising their delivery, and they will not be able to deliver to Crossroads during the third week. As this article goes to print, a new delivery date is being scheduled with Foodshare and will be announced shortly. Look for signs on the Town Green and in front of WSCC announcing the new date.

In addition a mobile Foodshare truck makes bi-weekly stops in the front parking area of WSCC every other Tuesday from 1:45 – 2:15 p.m. It brings perishable foods – fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat, and bread. There are no restrictions on who can pick up food, but you must remember to bring a bag or box with you to carry your food. Upcoming dates for the mobile truck are September 6 and 20 and will continue on a biweekly schedule. For more information about the mobile food truck or the Crossroads Food Pantry, please call the church office at 860-668-2271 or email: office@westsuffielducc.org.

Comments are closed.