Although it is a milestone worthy of acknowledgement, Marlena Soble and John Nann, of the Cheshire Food Drive, don’t want to use the word “celebration” about the Drive’s 50th Anniversary.
Hunger in Cheshire was a problem five decades ago and it remains a problem, often unseen, today.
“Hunger,” Soble said, searching for a way to describe it, “it makes me crazy.”
“Every year, we think wouldn’t it be nice if there wasn’t a need to do it,” Nann continued. “But we hope it ends because there’s no longer a need for it, not because of disinterest.”
While the turnout and levels of giving have remained strong over the years, a “lack of volunteerism” in society is something that concerns them both. They have operated this year with one fewer board director than usual, and are seeking interested individuals to fill the role.
Still, in their 11 years of organizing and running the Food Drive, Soble and Nann say they’ve learned there are many reasons people go without enough food. But they can also provide the many reasons why they have given so many hours of their time to helping alleviate the problem.
Because there are neighbors for whom a hot meal is not always a given. Because there are those who struggle with hard decisions every time they go to the grocery store. Because, even in a farming community in one of the wealthiest states in one of the wealthiest nations in the history of the world, there are still those who cannot afford enough food. Soble and Nann, like many before them and many now, are working to do what they can to make things better for as long as the help is needed.
The 50th Cheshire Food Drive will be held on Nov. 4 and 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the green in front of Cheshire’s First Congregational Church. Volunteers are welcome throughout the weekend to join their community in helping the less fortunate.
It was on the green back in 1970 that Betty Floyd of the Congregational Church started the “Children’s Day Canned Food Collection.” In 1974, according to a timeline from longtime resident Richard Miller, the Food Drive’s one-time secretary, the event took the form of a 24-hour Fast for the Hungry and also collected 2,000 cans of food. In 1980, when children from Cheshire Public Schools joined the effort, some 4,800 cans were collected for distribution.
Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, the “Cheshire Interfaith Food Drive” helped support community agencies in New Haven, Waterbury and Cheshire. Among those mentioned, Cheshire Academy, local businesses such as Bozzuto’s through its Hometown Foundation charitable arm, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and faith communities including Temple Beth David, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and St. Bridget of Sweden, have all provided volunteers and other generous aid over the years.
While collecting non-expired, canned goods is still a big part of the event, much of the Drive’s giving is locally-focused and takes place in the form of vouchers. This initiative, which has provided more than $100,000 to local families, is run through Cheshire’s Human Services Department, with the assistance of Stop & Shop and Big Y grocery stores. It is available to any Cheshire resident, and not affiliated with any food pantry. Those who need a little “extra help” with month-to-month expenses, as Soble explains, are especially encouraged to use the vouchers.
Cheshire Food Drive, Inc. pays for every food voucher used. Monetary donations to help fund the program can be made by check mailed to PO Box 926, Cheshire, CT 06410, via the website at CheshireFoodDrive.org, Venmo @Cheshire-FoodDrive, and of course cash donated while at the event on the green or in front of Stop & Shop over weekend.
Former Chairperson Jane Goldberg pointed out that, what was true back in 1996 remains so now: that the “season of giving” usually occurs from November through the winter months.
“However, it is important to note that the need skyrockets during the summer months, when children are out of school and have no school lunch program to provide what may be their only nutritious meal of the day. In addition, spring and summer are typically a low period for food donations to pantries,” she explained.
Goldberg describes the Cheshire Food Drive back in 1996 as “a hands-on experience. Understanding that life is hectic and time is a precious commodity, we try to make it easy for Cheshire citizens to share what they have with others less fortunate. Parents who want to teach their children the art of giving have the opportunity to do just that.”
For Soble and Nann, whose daughter will return from college for the event, it’s just another year defying the belief that hunger should just be accepted.
“We’re going to keep doing what we know we can do,” Soble said. “I don’t think there’s a clear cut way to ‘fix’ hunger, but what Cheshire Food Drive, Inc. has always tried to do is make it easier both for people to help each other and to receive that help.”