Rotary provides shelves, fridge to food pantry

Honesdale Rotary members visited the Wayne County Food Pantry’s Honesdale branch on July 13, to see how the club’s donation of a refrigerator unit and new shelving will make a difference.

Pantry Director Clarissa Wimmers said the items will be particularly helpful since the Pantry now has many more products and perishables to distribute. Thanks to emergency-relief fundraising, the Pantry was able to collaborate with local farmers for the first-time ever for fresh foods such as milk and eggs.

“We’re so thankful for what the Rotary is doing for us,” said Wimmers, who noted that the two-door refrigerator will move with the Pantry when it relocates to a new “hub” site. The new location, still to be determined, will serve the Honesdale branch, along with the Food Pantry’s other entities in Lakeville, Lakewood, Damascus and Newfoundland.

The Honesdale Rotary club raised $3,000 from events to match $3,000 in grant money from the Rotary Foundation, in conjunction with Rotary District 7410, to pay for the new items. “This grant and our efforts are a good example of how Rotarians can work together to help the communities in which we serve,” said Stephen Moulton, the Rotary Foundation Chair for the Honesdale club. “The monies come from a collective pool, meaning the totals are more significant and can help fund bigger projects. We welcome any one or group with a similar worthy project to contact us.”

The Wayne County Food Pantry serves 60 to 180 families at its five sites once a month. During the pandemic, the Pantry worked with area schools and groups like the Cooperage Project to help feed an additional 600 families.