By Dan May
Rotary Club of Orange
Dan May
It’s been a cold, snowy holiday season this year; the first in quite a few years in which we have been able to get the snowshoes out to hike across a reasonable amount of fresh powder.
Wintertime scenes in the woods are always enjoyable, and the deer and squirrels were curious to watch us lumber about. No chestnuts roasting in the fireplace, but it was still pleasant to return to a warm house after tramping outdoors.
Not everyone gets to recreationally enjoy such a winter, however. The homeless need to find temporary shelter, and even the food insecure can be caught in a bind when the choice is between meeting a surging home energy bill or putting food on the table.
The latter was brought home to me last week when I went to refill a small food pantry box near the Milford Senior Center. Several people were queuing up to share the daily delivery, which is refilled and quickly emptied most days. Their conversation focused on rising food prices, cold weather spikes in electric bills and an abbreviated holiday hiring season this year.
That pantry box at the Senior Center is one of about 20 provisioned by Purple Pantry of Milford, and they are spread out from Bridgeport to East Haven. All supplies, and labor for food purchases, stocking and delivery, are donated by individuals, community organizations, schools and local grocery stores and other businesses. Donations or volunteer assistance are always welcome. Rotary clubs in the service region help maintain several of the boxes. And the Rotary Club of Orange tries to keep the pantry box at the Milford Senior Center refilled every day.
Food insecurity is one of the topical service areas for Rotary clubs across all of southern Connecticut this year. The need is as great as perhaps it has been in years past. Municipal and not-for-profit pantries are generally well-provisioned from Thanksgiving through the New Year, when generosity and gift giving is perhaps at its peak. But supplies dwindle through the winter months when the need is perhaps highest.
This year the local Rotary clubs are adding a new event to help meet food demand. On Saturday, Feb. 7, members and friends of Rotary clubs in Devon, Milford, Orange, Stratford and West Haven will be hosting a meal-packaging event from 8:30 a.m. through 1 p.m. at the Milford Senior Center.
Meal-packaging events are growing nationwide as opportunities for communities to come together to cost-effectively provide nutritious and easy-to-prepare food for those in need. Bulk foods for about 10 meal varieties are shrink-wrapped in proportioned amounts that can be prepared with only boiling water. Many hundreds of meals can be prepared in a few hours for delivery to homeless shelters and food pantries or the house-bound.
These are fun, active events to help with, and a great opportunity to get to know other good souls and Rotarians, too. All are welcome; there are roles for all fitness and ability levels. If you would like to keep on giving in 2026, please join us that Saturday morning. General information on meal-packaging programs and the national organization which supports them can be found at outreachprogram.org/host-an-event/. Or feel free to contact me or any of the local Rotary club presidents for more information.
Dan May is the president of the Rotary Club of Orange.