November 2012 E-newsletter   Last week we made Thanksgiving a little more festive for 450 Cape Cod  families by providing them with a turkey and all the fixings. Our new space made the distribution go very smoothly for our veteran turkey crew volunteers including Joe Dumas, Leo Dunphy, Rich Gravelin, Larry Hake, Mary Kocot, Jeanette Lynch, Dave Mahan, David McGlone, Ray Sacramone, Joyce Simonis, and Sam Simonis and we thank everyone who helped us make this happen!  Magically over the holiday weekend our very own elves, Paulette & Don Gutt, transformed the pantry for the Christmas season and we are ready to go! We begin our turkey sign ups for families of three or more and toy sign ups for children 14 or younger starting November 27th!  See some of the articles below for ways that you might be able to help us.        Thanksgiving 2012  Thanksgiving is such a huge success at the pantry and like the academy awards we need to thank a lot of people who are the reason for our success.   The Chatham Wayside Inn donated 100 turkeys and they have done so for as long as we can remember - maybe even longer! The Chatham Wayside Inn is also very good to us in so many ways throughout the year. So when you go there for what I can promise will be a fabulous dinner be sure and thank them for all that they do for The Family Pantry of Cape Cod.   Bill Zammer, the new owner of Clancy's, provided us with 600 frozen apple pies for Thanksgiving! This is a great addition to our fixings. We had always provided a package of crust mix and a cake mix but apple pie is such a traditional dessert. Please be sure to thank them for becoming supporters of The Family Pantry of Cape Cod when you visit Clancy's for what I know will be another fabulous dinner!   Allen Harbor Yacht Club hosted the 20th Annual "Thanks for Giving" dinner which is a wonderful time and a great fund and food raising event for us. The members of the Yacht Club cook the turkey and all the fixings and serve it piping hot to a sold out and very appreciative crowd!  In addition to very reasonably priced tickets attendees are asked to bring a bag of food and the pantry truck was loaded with about 2500 pounds of food to fill our shelves. We extend a huge thank you to Commodore John Our and all the members of the Allen Harbor Yacht Club.   Cape Cod Cranberry Harvest donated several cases of their delicious cranberry jelly for inclusion in our holiday baskets. Debbie and Tina have done this for as long as anyone at the pantry can recall. If you haven't tried their jelly you must do so! I am partial to the cranberry pepper jelly which is great with crackers and cottage cheese but they are all great!    This year in honor of their 100 birthday celebration the Red Sox are performing 100 acts of kindness and we were fortunate to be selected as one of their beneficiaries. A group from the Red Sox office visited the pantry on November 19th and delivered 100 turkeys and sorted a bunch of food from various food drives. We are thrilled to have the support of the Red Sox and know that 2013 will be a good year!         The Harwich Fire Assocation donated $500 to the pantry as part of their 5K Run Down by the Sound a few weeks ago. Firefighters/Paramedics, Leighanne Deering and Justyne Waloz and Fire/Police Dispatcher Iris McInally visted the pantry and delivered the check as well a food donations they had collected. It is our pleasure to have the support of the Harwich Fire Association and we are grateful for all that they do for our community.    Christmas is coming And let's hope it is just the goose that is getting fat! We closed for a few days after Thanksgiving and our 300 volunteers are now all rested and ready to work on our Christmas program.    Our very good friends at the Cape Cod Chronicle are running their 9th Annual Neighbor Helping Neighbor Campaign. The publisher, Hank Hyora, has already made his incredibly generous donation of $1000 and has set an ambitious goal of $80,000 to help us with the holidays and long winter months. Please consider donating. If everyone gives a little it helps a lot!   You can donate online at thefamilypantry.com  or via the mail to The Family Pantry of Cape Cod, 133 Queen Anne Road, Harwich, MA 02645.  Deb DeCosta from the Chronicle Office, who has always been such a great friend and cheerleader for the pantry, has has designed lovely Christmas cards featuring her photographs of holiday doors of Harwich. These lovely cards are on sale at Beach Way Sweets Shop, Dancing Spoons, Port-O-Call, Sativa, Second Glance and the pantry with the net proceeds  going to the pantry. The Local Color Gallery (1652 Route 28 in West Chatham) is selling Santa Cod ornaments and donating $1 for every one that they sell. Toys Toys and More Toys Please!  We are just beginning our toy program and are very thankful to Mary Hall who is chairing the Harwich Chamber of Commerce's Christmas in Harwich program. For the second year Mary has included a toy/gift  collection for the children of The Family Pantry of Cape Cod. Last year we gave toys/gifts to 776 children ages 14 and younger and we expect to do a few more this year! So frankly we could use some help with this program. Anyone who would like to help can drop new unwrapped items to the following businesses who have graciously offered to be collection sites: Benson Young & Downes, Harwich Port Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, Dennis, East Harwich & Harwich Port Commonwealth Associates, Harwich Port The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, East Harwich Second Glance Thrift Shop, Harwich Port or at the pantry during our open hours   Lastly cash is always good. if you don't have the time to shop and  would like to help we welcome financial donations. Visit our website  thefamilypantry.com   or you can mail a donation to The Family Pantry of Cape Cod, 133 Queen Anne Road, Harwich, MA 02645. You can a make this a part of the Cape Cod Chronicle's Neighbor Helping Neighbor Drive.        TD Visits the pantry! Just prior to Thanksgiving TD  of TD Bank along with Joy Faust and Jacqueline Mulholland visited the pantry and delivered several bags and boxes of food from their stores. TD Bank has always been a big supporter of the pantry including their Affinity Program. If you have any type of account at TD Bank (or you can open a new one!) ask to participate in the Affinity Program.  If you do so, you can then select one of the non-profits  in TD Bank's Affinity program and TD will annually make a donation to the non-profit based upon your account. Please note it is not your money but TD Bank's that is donated! What's not to like?  Volunteers Needed  We have volunteer openings Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday at the Pantry and Friday and Saturday at the Second Glance Thrift store.   Please contact Patty Watson for more information at 508-432-6519, or pwatson@thefamilypantry.com Year End Reflections  As we look back on 2012 the Family Pantry of Cape  Cod is grateful to all that have helped us in any way. All donors big or small and especially our Bag a Month Ambassadors who commit to donating $25 each month. All who donate their empty recyclable plastic bottles and cans to the Dennis or Harwich transfer station, Holy Trinity, Irving Mobile in Dennisport or to the pantry. These empties are a great revenue source for us. Shoppers who visit  our incredibly successful thrift shop, Second Glance, located at 563 Main Street in Harwich Port and purchase our wonderful stock of gently used clothing, jewelry and household treasures.  Purchasers of Shaws or Stop & Shop food certificates from us at Christ Church Episcopal, First Congregational Church, Holy Trinity Church, the Dennis Democratic Committee, The Chatham Women's Club. Second Glance on Wednesdays and Saturday afternoons and at the pantry during open hours or by appointment.  Our Hours of Operation  Tuesday 10-3:30 Thursday 10-noon, 1:30-3:30 & 5-7PM Saturday 10-noon      Sincerely,   Mary Anderson Executive Director The Family Pantry of Cape Cod  133 Queen Anne Road Harwich, MA 02645 508-432-6519 manderson@thefamilypantry.com

[Read the rest of this article...]

Clancy's restaurant has generously donated over 900 apple pies to The Family Pantry of Cape Cod.   Representing Clancy's in the photo below is Darlene Baker, General Manager along with Pat Brophy, Warehouse Manager at The Family Pantry of Cape Cod. Below: Many many Apple pies  Bill Zammer, the new owner of Clancy's would like everyone to know that the restaurant is under new ownership and is offering great food, great prices, and is serving year-round lunch and dinners.   Thanks to Clancy's for being a member of the Family Pantry FAMILY and for this generous donation

[Read the rest of this article...]

Holiday Doors of Harwich Holiday Cards   Interior saying: “May your door open to the spirit of the holiday.” Package contains 8 cards $13.50 These beautiful Holiday Cards may be purchased at the following locations: Second Glance Thrift Shop in Harwichport Sativa Dancing Spoons The Family Pantry of Cape Cod Net proceeds to be donated to The Family Pantry of Cape Cod

[Read the rest of this article...]

The Family Pantry of Cape Cod received the Greater Boston Food Bank's Community Partner Award for 2012 at the Food Bank's Annual Breakfast at the Sheraton Boston.   Receiving the award is Mary Anderson (center), Ecexcutive Director of The Family Pantry of Cape Cod.  Presenting the award are Philip Licari - Chairman of the Board and Catherine D'Amato - President and CEO, both of the food bank. The Community Partner of the Year Award is presented to a member hunger-relief agency that consistently exceeds expectations in food distribution, food safety, nutrition, nutrition education, community advocacy, leadership, and partnership.  

[Read the rest of this article...]

Is it really October and where exactly did this year go?  You can tell it is Fall at the pantry because people who have lost their seasonal jobs are coming to us for a bit of help. We are also gearing up to start taking fuel assistance applications November 1st. And believe it or not we are working on our holiday programs! Many people ask around the holidays what they can do to help so there is an article about holiday support in this newsletter. The founders chose the word  "Family" for our name because we are all family: the clients who need some help, the 300+ dedicated volunteers who are the heart of the pantry and the donors who give us the resources to make it all happen. So as a part of our family I thank you for all that you have done for The Family Pantry of Cape Cod and the 8,693 people that we helped last year.     All Eyes on Second Glance  2012 marked the 5th birthday of our upscale thrift shop and it has been a success beyond our wildest dreams. Sales have increased just about every month that we have been in operation which is a tribute to the fabulous volunteers, Team Leaders and the incredible Lorraine Cowhey who manages the store. This dedicated group of 50 volunteers has created a thrift shop that is often mistaken for a retail store and once received an honorable mention as a consignment shop even though we are not a consignment store!   Many of our loyal customers tell us that we are the best thrift shop on Cape Cod and the customer is always right! We change our stock regularly with the seasons so right now we are featuring a great collection of fall clothes as well as our jewely, household items, and books.   We currently are looking for volunteers for Friday and Saturday afternoons. The tasks include steaming, ironing, pricing and displaying items as well as keeping the shop clean so that we retain our image as the upscale thrift shop.      If interested contact Patty Watson on 508-432-6519 x6 or pwatson@thefamilypantry.com   Second Glance is located at 563 Main Street (right next to Dino's restaurant) and is open Tuesday - Saturday 10-4 yearround and Mondays June - October 10-4 A sad good bye to Sara Weller  All good things must come to an end or so "they" say. We have been very fortunate to have the services of Sara Weller for the past two summers as our Garden Intern/Supervisor. Sara came to us last year as an Intern from Smith College and was just what we needed to help manage the garden. This year we were fortunate to have a grant from the Cape & Islands United Way to hire for the position and were delighted that Sara came back and picked up right where she left off. Sara proudly reported that we have now produced in excess of 4000 pounds of organic vegetables at a value of about $12K.  Our clients are thrilled with the selection of vegetables and Sara was a big part of making it happen. We wish Sara all the best and know that she will forever be a treasured part of The Family Pantry of Cape Cod's family. Welcome Back Emily Aucoin: Emily is our youngest volunteer ever. As a four year old child she designed The Family Pantry of Cape Cod's logo which we still use today in all our publications. Over the years Emily has assited her  parents, Michelle & Joe Aucoin in various tasks at the pantry. Emily is now a wonderful young lady and she returned this summer and volunteered in the pantry. In addition to her hard work at the pantry, Emily also organized a food drive where she worked and brought in 6 large boxes of food for the pantry.     Volunteers Openings We have over 300 volunteers but we are always looking for a few more. The following are some spots that are still available:    1. Second Glance Thrift Shop - Fridays, Saturdays  We are seeking volunteers for 3 hour shifts 1-4PM throughout the year.   2. Bottles and Cans - 7-10 Thursdays  and Saturdays in the fall.   3. Warehouse Stocking shelves - Tuesday 9:30 - 12:00 Please contact Patty Watson for more information at 508-432-6519, pwatson@thefamilypantry.com.    Type caption text here. United Way's Day of Caring crew from Cape Country WKPE got the pantry warehouse in shape for a busy holiday season!  Holiday planning  I know. I know. It is only October but with close to 9,000 people to care for we need to plan ahead. I promise we will not be playing Chritmas carols yet nor put the decorations up but I wanted to give people some suggestions for ways to help us with the holidays.   Thanksgiving: We provide turkeys and all the fixings for our client families of three or more people who sign up to receive one. The individuals and families of two are given an invitations to local community meals such as the one at Brax Landing.   If you can afford to do so, when shopping for your holiday meal consider picking up an extra frozen turkey and donating it to us. We have plenty of freezer space so the turkeys may be brought to us any time during our open hours.   Christmas/Hannukah: We provide toys/gifts to client parents for their children ages infant to 14. Last year we had gifts for 775 children and expect we will need at least that many and probably a few more this year. We already have commitments from the Cape Cod Corvette Club and the Harwich Chamber of Commerce to help us with this endeavor but we can always use a few more Elves to donate new unwrapped items to us. Again we have the storage space so can take  the items at any time during our open hours.   Greens: Lastly cash is always good. if you don't have the time to shop and  would like to help we welcome financial donations Visit our website or you can mail a donation to The Family Pantry, 133 Queen Anne Road, Harwich, MA 02645. You can avoid the rush and even make this a part of the Cape Cod Chronicle's Neighbor Helping Neighbor Drive which kicks off in November.    Our Hours of Operation  Tuesday 10-3:30 Thursday 10-noon, 1:30-3:30 & 5-7PM Saturday 10-noon    Sincerely,   Mary Anderson Executive Director The Family Pantry of Cape Cod  133 Queen Anne Road Harwich, MA 02645 508-432-6519 manderson@thefamilypantry.com

[Read the rest of this article...]