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Dunkirk Rotary’s ‘Outreach Project’ helps area food pantries

The Dunkirk Rotary Club’s “Outreach Project” helped four area food pantries that run short of food each month.

With a matching grant from District Rotary 7090 of $2,000 to match $2,000 from the Dunkirk Rotary Club, a total of $4,000 was available for this “Outreach Project.” Each of the four food pantries, Dunkirk, Silver Creek, Forestville and Cassadaga, received $1,000 to purchase additional food for its food pantry.

Cassadaga Food Pantry, located at 25 Maple Ave. in Cassadaga, uses the Community Baptist Church basement. Roger Higgs is the manager of the food pantry. He started in June 2008 to assist and has been manager for one and a half years. His wife, Carol, takes care of all of the finances of the operation, along with a dedicated group of volunteers who assist clients weekly at the site.

The food pantry was started in 1990 and in 1999 Eleanor Esch joined the effort. She has left a wonderful, caring legacy that continues today.

The Cassadaga Food Pantry is open on Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon and serves 60 families with a population of 634 in this rural area.

The Forestville Food Pantry is located at 3 Park St. in Forestville. Lorraine Hodkin is the manager and Ralph Silleman Jr. oversees the financials as treasurer. A dedicated group of volunteers assist clients and help stock shelves.

The food pantry was started in 2011 with $3.60 from pop cans found there when they moved into the facility. Many people in the community at that time lent a hand to clean, repair and paint the facility.

The Forestville Food Pantry is open on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and serves over 100 families with a population of 697 in this rural area.

The Silver Creek Food Pantry is located at 260 Central Ave. in Silver Creek.

Colleen McKenna is the manager. The food pantry opened in 1983 when Ann Garnadt opened it in her garage and gave out spaghetti and doughnuts.

McKenna has worked there for 20 years. She was once one of their clients, receiving a turkey at Thanksgiving. She started volunteering then when she saw the need in the community and as a way to give back. She has been a manager for 15 years.

The food pantry is staffed with dedicated volunteers who help clients and stock shelves. The food pantry is open on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon and serves 360 families with a population of 4,000 in this rural area.

The Dunkirk Food Pantry is run by the Chautauqua County Rural Ministries and is located at 127 Central Ave. in Dunkirk. Kathleen Peterson has been the manager of the facility for 20 years.

In 1979 the Dunkirk Food Pantry first opened. Besides the Food Pantry, she also has a soup kitchen called The Friendly Kitchen that serves meals daily. In order to serve the need in the community, groceries are given out weekly. Peterson also offers the Food Express where clients come to receive additional groceries during the month.

Many volunteers from the community help with the Food Express and The Friendly Kitchen. The Dunkirk Food Pantry is open Monday-Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. It serves 150 families in a population of 12,563.

The Dunkirk Rotary members worked in all four food pantries for this “Outreach Project” with a total of nine members and 17 hours.

Rotary is an international organization with 33,000 clubs in over 200 countries and 1.2 million members. It is a group of business and professional leaders who volunteer their time and talent to serve their communities and the world.

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