Downtown merchant’s promotion seeks food donations for Roots & Wings
NORWICH – Susan Wood, owner of Thymely Treasures in downtown Norwich, is working together with Roots and Wings to gather food donations at her store during a time when the charitable organization is in dire need of items for local food pantries.
Wood began her second annual “Stock the Pantry Sale” for Roots and Wings two weeks ago. The idea, she explained, is to encourage local shoppers to bring in non-perishable food items to put in the shopping cart she has in her store. Anyone who adds to the cart can then draw a discount amount from a bowl, ranging from 15 to 50 percent off whatever they purchase that day.
Though food donations have been slower coming in this year than last when she gathered more than 100 pounds of food, Wood says she’s optimistic that she can have another cart full of food for local pantries before her sale ends on Saturday.
“This is a great idea to couple business with community services ... Shoppers get to give back to the community and save money,” said Wood. “It’s an awful thing for anyone to ever have to choose between buying food or paying bills.”
Catholic Charities Community Outreach Services Coordinator Gary Quarella said the efforts of people like Wood are critical, particularly at a time of the year when food donations drastically slow down after a busy holiday season.
Roots and Wings put together food packages for 200 families at Christmas time by using food donated throughout the holidays, Quarella explained. Food donations like Woods’ are a great help now because this food goes directly into regular pantry services at a time when donations are sluggish and the organization faces the challenges of a new annual budget.
Though Roots and Wings gets annual aid from FEMA, allocations are not often dispersed any earlier than April. “Until then, we’re scraping,” Quarella said. Last year alone, Roots and Wings served 4,842 households (15,788 family members) with emergency food packages which adds up to more than 235,000 meals, Quarella explained. “We really appreciate donations this time of year ... everything helps,” he added.
Thymely Treasures’ “Stock the Pantry Sale” for Roots and Wings ends Jan. 28. All donations are welcome, even if someone chooses not to buy anything, said Wood.
Wood began her second annual “Stock the Pantry Sale” for Roots and Wings two weeks ago. The idea, she explained, is to encourage local shoppers to bring in non-perishable food items to put in the shopping cart she has in her store. Anyone who adds to the cart can then draw a discount amount from a bowl, ranging from 15 to 50 percent off whatever they purchase that day.
Though food donations have been slower coming in this year than last when she gathered more than 100 pounds of food, Wood says she’s optimistic that she can have another cart full of food for local pantries before her sale ends on Saturday.
“This is a great idea to couple business with community services ... Shoppers get to give back to the community and save money,” said Wood. “It’s an awful thing for anyone to ever have to choose between buying food or paying bills.”
Catholic Charities Community Outreach Services Coordinator Gary Quarella said the efforts of people like Wood are critical, particularly at a time of the year when food donations drastically slow down after a busy holiday season.
Roots and Wings put together food packages for 200 families at Christmas time by using food donated throughout the holidays, Quarella explained. Food donations like Woods’ are a great help now because this food goes directly into regular pantry services at a time when donations are sluggish and the organization faces the challenges of a new annual budget.
Though Roots and Wings gets annual aid from FEMA, allocations are not often dispersed any earlier than April. “Until then, we’re scraping,” Quarella said. Last year alone, Roots and Wings served 4,842 households (15,788 family members) with emergency food packages which adds up to more than 235,000 meals, Quarella explained. “We really appreciate donations this time of year ... everything helps,” he added.
Thymely Treasures’ “Stock the Pantry Sale” for Roots and Wings ends Jan. 28. All donations are welcome, even if someone chooses not to buy anything, said Wood.
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