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Volunteers at Food Drive
Volunteers were happy to get a visit from WINY Radio’s Gary Osbrey (fourth from left), during the March 14 community collection event at the Cargill Council 64 Knights of Columbus Hall on Providence Street in Putnam. Putnam’s Scouts BSA Troop 21 and Cub Scout Pack 21 joined forces recently with Cargill Council to collect donations of money and non-perishable food for the Putnam-based non-profit Daily Bread Food Pantry. The count? $2,512 in cash and 2,407 pounds of non-perishable food collected. Photo by John D. Ryan.





PUTNAM — In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, a recently completed food drive is helping the non-profit Daily Bread Food Pantry to get through the unusually large need for help they are experiencing.
And while the successful drive is over, you can still mail donation checks to: Interfaith Human Services of Putnam. P. O. Box 281, Putnam, CT 06260.
Scouts BSA Troop 21, Cub Scout Pack 21 and Cargill Council 64, Knights of Columbus, joined together to collect more than $2,500 and well over a ton of food for local needy people. Knights and Scouts completed food collections shortly before Connecticut’s “Stay Safe, Stay Home” advisories went into effect in mid-March. After getting a few late monetary donations, drive organizers just finished the count, with $2,512 in cash and 2,407 pounds of non-perishable food collected.
Daily Bread Program Coordinator Ann Kathi Peterson said they are very grateful. “Thank God for this food drive,” she said. “Thank God for what the Scouts and the Knights of Columbus have done.”
The local, non-profit, non-denominational food pantry is operated by Interfaith Human Services of Putnam, providing local needy people with food and financial help to pay for necessities like electricity and heating oil. Peterson said that based solely on need, prior to the virus outbreak Daily Bread was helping an average of about 500 to 550 people every month, sometimes more, from Putnam, Pomfret, Woodstock and Eastford. Economic conditions over the last few weeks, however, have increased that number. “We’re still operating, and now we’ve had recently-unemployed people here we wouldn’t otherwise see,” she said. “The money will be put to good use to help our clients pay for basic needs, while the food from the Scouts and the Knights has helped to make the difference for us in a difficult time.”
The combined three-week collection included support from three local churches, Putnam town employees and the public. The drive began when Scouts and Knights passed out hundreds of distinctive bright yellow plastic “Scouting for Food” grocery bags at the Masses being celebrated at St. Mary Church of the Visitation in Putnam and Most Holy Trinity Church in Pomfret. It was soon expanded to collections by the Congregational Church of Putnam and by Putnam town employees. As part of the effort, people were asked for monetary donations and to also fill the yellow bags with groceries and bring them back. Knights and Scouts followed up later and collected the donated money and food as the drive went on.
In 2008 Cargill Council 64 and Troop 21 to start working together every year to assist local, needy people. New Cub Scout Pack 21 was added this year.
“We all know the economy has taken a big hit since the virus took off,” said Cargill Council 64 Grand Knight Douglas Bergstrom. “We got lucky with the timing on this, just as things got tougher. We’re very grateful that the donations came at the right time to do the most good.”
Along with the church and Putnam town employee collections, on Saturday morning, March 14, the drive included a community collection of food and money at the Cargill Council 64 Knights of Columbus Hall on Providence Street. During the outdoor event, motorists pulled into the parking lot with their cash and bags of groceries. Meanwhile, customers were giving their donations to volunteers stationed two blocks away, at Putnam Supermarket. Just after noon, Knights and Scouts trucked the food over to the pantry, located at the Living Faith United Methodist Church on Grove Street, where they helped to bring it inside.
 “We have younger kids in the Cub Pack, so we wanted to teach them about serving others right from the beginning,” said Pack 21 Cubmaster Seean Weaver, who leads boys and girls age 5 through 10. The Putnam Cub Scout pack started last fall, so this was their first big project to help their community.
Meanwhile, Troop 21 Assistant Scoutmaster Patricia Gaffney agreed with the idea that this drive came at just the right time.
“I have two teenagers at home who know how to eat,” Gaffney said. “It’s tough enough putting food on the table anyway, without having so many people out of work all of a sudden. I’m glad our Scouts could help out.”

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