February 15 - Just because face masks regulations are being relaxed a bit and more folks are getting vaccinated it certainly does not mean the Covid-19 pandemic has lost its punch.
With supply line shortages, food prices increasing over 7 percent, gas looking at $3.85 and inching up higher, medical insurance increases topping out at 5 percent and the utilities coming in at an unbelievable 12 percent things are getting a lot tougher on Main Street these days. Many people are now in a serious struggle to make ends meet as best they can and looking for ways to stretch their money.
I spoke with Margie Granese who has been the Coordinator for the St. Anthony’s Food Pantry for over ten years, and the pantry has been in operation for well over twenty-five years and is a rock-solid resource for the community. According to Margie the number of families getting food from the pantry has increased by over 50 percent since the pandemic started.
Margie along with her six volunteers (this columnist included) have worked hard to make sure every family has the food resources they need. She spends countless hours of her free time traveling from supermarkets and chain stores seeking out the absolute best prices for brand name popular foods and has the innate ability to stretch a dollar until it squeaks!
Every family gets special holiday food boxes and at Christmas each child in our families gets Christmas presents. For the past year Sullivan County has been distributing prepared and frozen foods, dairy products, fresh produce and meats to pantries throughout the County but those deliveries have recently begun to taper off, so the pantry needs to rely more on their non-perishable, dry good foods (those that are not refrigerated or frozen) that has always been the main resource for keeping the pantry up and running for decades.
Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Barryville Farmers Market and their shoppers, their donation money pays for farm fresh cooked meals from “A Single Bite”, a non-profit organization founded by Foster Supply Hospitality (a local boutique hotel company), that is distributed to the pantry’s visitors. Now there are some empty shelf spaces in the pantry that need to be stocked once again.
The latest inventory shows a need for canned tuna, beef stew, cereal, pancake mix and pancake syrup, jelly, and peanut butter (smooth). As a volunteer at the pantry I can tell you that we are unable to distribute expired canned goods and so please dispose of those items at the dump.
Monetary donations are always welcome and are much appreciated. Any checks can be made out to St. Anthony’s Food Pantry, and you can drop it off or mail it to the Rectory located next to the Church at 25 Beaver Brook Road, Yulan NY 12792. Donations can also be given during Pantry hours (10:30pm-Noon) held in the Community Center across from the Church.
The schedule for the upcoming Pantry days which will be on the second and third Thursdays of the month are-February 17th, March 10th -17th, -April 14th-21st and May 12th-19th. For any other pantry related questions, you can reach Margie Granese at (845) 557-0583.
CORRECTION - Last week I wrote about the fabulous new hair salon that just opened in Barryville and incorrectly gave the impression that the owner Keith Nicholson only provided hair stylist services. Keith is a very gifted and experienced hair care professional and does hair color, highlights, and glosses as well. I apologize to Keith for any misinformation I inadvertently printed. As result of this unfortunate error, I have made an important and apparently necessary “Note to Self”- in the future not to do any Ribbon Cutting champagne sipping until after I have completed my interview!