Food drop kicks off holiday charities

By NATHAN LAMB | Milton Independent Staff Writer
miltonreporter@yahoo.com

Between rising gas and heat prices, families near the poverty level have plenty to worry about this winter.

Securing a proper Thanksgiving meal doesn’t figure to be on that list this year, thanks to the holiday food drop at the Milton Family Community Center (MFCC) last Saturday.

Overall, some 10,000 pounds of food—including a turkey for every family—were distributed to 100 needy households at the drop, said coordinator Charlotte Parot.

Volunteers from the Milton community and the Joseph Marotti Company filled bags with food from the Vermont Food Bank on Saturday. About 100 families received enough food, including a turkey, to get them through the Thanksgiving week.

“It was enough food, probably, to get them through the holidays,” she said.

MFCC coordinated the event in partnership with businesses, churches, and local residents. In all, some 60 volunteers showed up Saturday morning to sort and bag the groceries.

While Parot described the event as a community-wide effort, the Milton-based Joseph Marotti Company—which purchased all of the food—was singled out for recognition. Asked about the gift, Joseph’s wife Nan eschewed the spotlight, saying lots of people contributed to the event. She knows from experience, having volunteered to help holiday charities for years.

Pressed for a reason, Marotti said it came down to being impressed by the last food drop and wanting to ensure there was another.

“I just wanted it to continue and I thought if we as businesses all took turns and our company did this year’s, we could make sure it continued,” she said.

The Marottis provided a major financial boost and Parot termed the food drop a huge success, but she also noted it was essentially a kickoff to the annual rush that charities undergo to help those in need through the holidays.

As the human services coordinator at the MFCC, Parot knows the need firsthand: while a ride through town on Route 7 could suggest prosperity, Milton has a substantial number of residents at or near the poverty level, she said. Among that number is often the working poor, which are people with jobs but insufficient means to cope with the rising cost of living and home essentials.

“As we get into the holidays, that increases because people are choosing to make their kids happy and buy gifts…and in January they’re going to need rent and fuel money,” she said.

Toward that end, the MFCC is already gearing up its holiday toy drive, which is done in conjunction with the Marine Corps League and other area charitable organizations. Applications to receive aid through the program were distributed at the food drop and are available at the MFCC through early December.

On the other side, collection barrels for new and unwrapped toys will be set up shortly at the Post Office, the MFCC, Kinney Drugs, Rite Aid, Husky, and Mobil Plaza, and will remain there through Dec. 14. The annual Dec. 1 Santa Bus --where kids get a coupon for a photo with St. Nick at the MFCC's annual Festival of Trees in return for toy donations -- is also part of the program, and culminates with distribution of the toys on Dec.15 at the Grange Hall.

The program has some stalwart contributors who are already planning “black Friday” shopping sprees to take advantage of post Thanksgiving sales, she’s hoping for widespread support as well.

Though the event has will need help and there will be less gifts to distribute.

“Because the cost of living is going up, we’re expecting a real increase in the number of families needing help,” she said.

While toy drives are seasonal, the need for food is not. The MFCC food shelf is open year round, and its leanest months are typically during the summer, when kids are home and there’s less emphasis on giving, said Parot. It’s a misconception that Parot, like most people involved with food shelves, has to work against.

However, the current focus is on meeting the need at what’s annually the shelf’s busiest time of year. The good new is they’re off to a good start, said Parot, since leftover stock from the food drop was distributed to boost the local food shelves. It will be available there through the holidays and beyond, and she invited those who need it to stop by.

“Families that run out of food during the holidays are still welcome to drop by and use our food shelf,” she said. “We’ll also be sharing with the food shelf at St. Ann and other churches; we’re all working together so it will get out to Milton families.”