Donations from the Heart

Judging from the tables laden with rows of boxes of cereal, pasta and rice; jars and cans of tuna, soup, vegetables and fruits, sauces, the Neighbor to Neighbor and the Greenwich Social Services Department food pantry shelves won't be bare.

Thanks to the efforts of the Greenwich service unit of the Salvation Army, town employees and residents who read about it, a food drive held at Greenwich Town Hall was deemed a success. The tables in the Gisborne conference room—including a 10-foot long conference table—were covered with the generous donations dropped off throughout the day. One corner of the room was filled with paper goods — paper towels, toilet paper, tissues and disposable diapers.

"This has been really great. People have been very generous," said Edna Broom, a member of the Salvation Army's Greenwich Service Unit's board. "There was a disabled older woman who came with a grocery cart filled. She had the list of (suggested) items. She went to the store and bought everyone of them. So generous."

The generosity didn't go unnoticed by Wendy Blumenthal and Jodie Breakell, the interim executive directors of Neighbor to Neighbor.

"Oh my, look at what you've done," said Blumenthal as she walked into the conference room early Thursday afternoon. Surveying the accumulated donations that grew as town employees delivered more foodstuffs during their lunch hour, Blumenthal added, "This is a most magnificent charitable effort. This is just spectacular."

She said the donations will help clients—especially families—supplement their daily diets with much needed proteins. "It's difficult for some during the summer ... we want to make sure kids have a good lunch."

Broom said that several people also made monetary donations which will be used to buy additional food supplies for the agencies' pantries.