Sarah was as close to panic as I’ve yet to see. There was a huge rush of families last weekend. Even in the relentless heat, the food bank that supplies most of the food and sends it on Tuesdays said they couldn’t come until Thursday.
That meant Wednesday, the busiest day of the week, would have many empty shelves and little of the foods the patrons are used to. Some people might shrug and say, well, that’s life; Sarah is a fierce advocate for the hungry and the needy.
She was scrambling to get more food to the pantry, and one of her appeals for help came to me and the Army of Good. It might be too late, I thought, somewhat foolishly. People will be on the beach, picnicking, or watching the Olympics. How silly; I know better than to underestimate the Army Of Good.
Last week, 142 families, totaling 425 people, came to the Cambridge Food Pantry in search of food to feed their families.
Most of them were single mothers with more than one child. You are all an inspiration to me, the heart of the accurate, genuine, and generous America, the country I know and love. Thank you on behalf of Sarah and many people who depend on the food pantry. You have made an enormous difference.
“We really need your help,” she said, “please do what you can.” It was a heartfelt SOS, and I heard it—so did the Army of Good. The Amazon trucks started arriving on Saturday and were still coming this morning when I sent them to see what you had done. “Holy Cow,” Sarah said in her text to me.
I tried something new—instead of the two or three items Sarah had chosen, I put up the entire Amazon Wish List for the pantry. People could buy what they decided to buy, and they did. The Wish List sold out several times, and Sarah worried she would have nowhere to store the food.
It was, she said, a tremendous and unprecedented problem to have.
I took these photos this morning as your donations were sorted and moved to the shelves. You needed to see what you have done to brighten the lives of hundreds of people struggling to survive.
A million thanks. I don’t really have words, so I’ll let the foods you sent speak for themselves.
My jaw dropped more than once when I came to the pantry this morning.
This is great! I appreciate seeing the entire wish list…I might only have a few dollars to buy something for the pantry.
Allows me to participate in a small way.
Thanks Amy it was wonderful
Jon, just curious. There are several farms in Washington City. In my town of Galway our farms contribute many fresh vegetables to our pantry this time of year.
I’m not sure what you are curious about Gail, a number of farms also contribute fresh vegetables to the Cambridge Food Pantry if that’s what you’re asking.