Volunteers take pride in Verona Food Pantry

Verona Food Pantry: Donations help families throughout the year

DURHAMVILLE » It was a busy year for the Verona Food Pantry in 2017, something that certainly has a double edge for the volunteers and donors who support the outreach. While it is fortunate that this kind of help is available to the hungry in the area, it is also unfortunate that there are so many people in need of that service, said director Linda Finnerty.

“It’s hard because you want to help all of these people, but at the same time you don’t want there to be all of these people who need you,” she explained.

Finnerty, who has been a volunteer with theFoodPantry since 2007, just completed her year-end report for 2017. They served 65,370 meals to 4,358 people last year, she reported, with an average of 110 families a month. There were donations totaling $26,300, with $22,000 of that spent on food. The Food Pantry also received a grant from the Food Bank of Central New York for $8,000 bringing their food purchase total to $30,000. In addition, $2,200 was spent on expenses for insurance, office and clean- ing supplies, she said.

There is a wide variety of reasons that someone might find themselves in need of a visit to the Food Pantry, Finnerty noted.

“It’s really amazing what you can learn about people,” she said. “We hear all kinds of stories about the reasons people have to come to the Food Pantry.”

Some are seniors who have lost a spouse andsuddenlyfind they can’t make ends meet on their own. Some are people who have been confronted by major illnesses either themselves or in their family where the cost of that care has taken precedent over the price of food. Some people have been laid off from their jobs, while others have been injured and are now unable to work. And the younger generation is also making visits there, as they find their own wages aren’t quite enough to put food on their tables.

The Verona Food Pantry is sponsored by the Verona Area Council of Churches. It was started in 2004 by then-Verona UnitedMethodist Church Pastor Nancy Araujo, and originally located at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. It moved to

“It’s hardbecause youwant tohelpall of thesepeople, but at the same time you don’twant there to be all of these peoplewho need you.”

— Linda Finnerty, Verona Food Pantry director

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH BY MIKE JAQUAYS Verona Food Pantry volunteers, from left, Becky Harrington, Jennifer Centore, and Linda Finnerty pose on Jan. 4at their Durhamville storage and distribution facility.

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH BY MIKE JAQUAYS Volunteers, from left, Sue Wilcox and Megan Centore pose on Jan. 4at the Verona Food Pantry in Durhamville.