Troop 8 Makes Lunches for Food Pantry
A group of Troop 8 scouts gathered on March 5th at the troop’s headquarters to pack 100 lunches to benefit the Chatham United Methodist Church (CUMC) Community Food Pantry.
Charley Baird-Hassell, who sings in CUMC’s choir, organized the effort for his Scouting for Food service project. Fellow scouts Matthew Engel and Ben Bernich helped decorate and fill the bags at the troop’s homebase at Ogden Memorial Presbyterian Church in Chatham.
Local food markets, Kings of Chatham and Stop and Shop of Madison, donated gift cards toward the purchase of provisions.
Baird-Hassell was planning to do a food drive for the pantry, but learned that there was also a need for pre-made lunches.
Every Wednesday, 30 to 50 cars– containing from one person to entire families – line up in the church’s driveway, sometimes spilling onto Main Street, to receive groceries.
It is nice to offer them a ready-made meal, too, said senior pastor, Rev. Jeff Markay. Most of the recipients are from Chatham and neighboring towns.
The physical pantry, which is located in two sheds behind the church, is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It was organized in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic to help neighbors in need. The pantry’s motto is, “Take what you need, leave what you can.”
“Troop 8 has helped collect food for the pantry in the past”, said Bob Weber, assistant Scoutmaster, who helped with the service project.
The pantry is always in need of pasta, all canned proteins, boxes of cereal, baking mixes, dried and canned beans, baby wipes, diaper cream and personal care items.
To learn how to help, visit the CUMC’s website: chathamumc.com/cumc-community-food-pantry
