The Putney Foodshelf, Incorporated, has received two grants through the Vermont Community Foundation. One grant, from the Crosby-Gannett Fund, in the amount of $320, has funded new folding chairs for clients of the Foodshelf so they can sit comfortably while they wait their turn during open hours. The Crosby-Gannet Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation supports endeavors that contribute to the betterment and vitality of the Brattleboro area.
Long-time Foodshelf volunteer Elizabeth Christie wrote the grants, with additional help from Susan Kochinskas, another Foodshelf volunteer, and Hannah Pick, part-time Foodshelf coordinator.
“The old chairs were rickety and unsafe,” Christie said. “I wanted our Foodshelf clients to be able to sit with dignity and respect as they waited their turn.”
The second grant, from the Dunham-Mason Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, in the amount of $320, was designated for general support of the Foodshelf. The grant funded both the purchase of new plastic baskets for holding fresh produce for display during open hours and covered bins for transporting and storing non-perishable foods for the Foodshelf’s Family Food Bag program at Putney Central School.
“We appreciate the support provided by these grants,” Pick said. “The funds help in the on-going effort to serve our clients.”
The Putney Foodshelf, which provides healthy supplemental food for area people in need, is open twice a week at its location in the Putney Community Center (side ramp entrance): Tuesday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m. (doors open at 5:45 p.m.) and Saturday mornings from 9 to 10 a.m. (doors open at 8:45 a.m.). The PFS holds open hours even during holidays and snowstorms. It never closes. No proof of income is necessary. The PFS website is www.putneyfoodshelf.org. Contact via email (putneyfoodshelf@gmail.com) or phone (802-387-8551 and leave a message) or by mail at P. O. Box 337, Putney, VT 05346.
The Vermont Community Foundation is a family of hundreds of funds and foundations established by Vermonters to serve their charitable goals. It provides the advice, investment vehicles, and back-office expertise to make giving easy and effective. The Foundation also provides leadership in giving by responding to community needs, by mobilizing and connecting philanthropists to multiply their impact, and by keeping Vermont’s nonprofit sector vital with grants and other investments in the community. Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information.
