Sarah and I devised a weekend theme of joy and meaning: “Four items would be great,” she wrote. That means she’s worried. “People are so generous. The Army of Good is doing well for us.” The idea is to get comfort food for the cooler weather (soon to be cold). “This is such a great idea,” she said. “When they see any of these foods, the people in the families coming here smile. We need all four, and thanks.”
If you are inside the pantry when the families come, you see them smile and light up when they see items they used to be able to get and still want. Unlike most food pantries, this one has a lot of trouble finding out what their patrons want. They work hard to respect the dignity of people who need help.
1. Efferendent Retainer Cleaning Tablets, Tablets For Dental Appliances, 102 Tablets, $5.49.
3. Stuffing Mix Turkey Flavor, 6 Oz., $1.42.
4. Velveeta Shells & Cheese, Stuffing Mix Turkey Flavor, 6 Oz, $1.42.
NOTE: I’ll post these items this evening, tomorrow, and Sunday—three days to take your time and see what, if anything, you can do. I buy three or four lower-priced items each day and save the more expensive ones for later in the weekend. In this case, $10 isn’t all that expensive, and it will keep many teeth clean in any family.
You can access the Cambridge Food Pantry Wish List 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When Sarah has enough of the requested items, she’ll remove them from the list and add other ones. All of them are needed.
You can access the Wish List here using the green button at the bottom of every blog post.
Sarah has worked extra hard to make these items as inexpensive as possible. I love the idea of “Smile Day.” It is difficult to admit you can no longer pay your bills or feed your family. Every smile we can bring is a precious smile.