
Submitted by PDG Mike Hart (drmhart@yahoo.com)
Past President and Westfield Rotary Club Foundation Board Chair Liz Ensslin introduced the speaker, Deacon Keith Gibbons. Keith and his wife both grew up in Westfield, and raised their family here. His wife and children all received Rotary Scholarships, and he was the paper boy for the previous Rotary Club Treasurer Jimmy Coventry.
Keith is a Deacon at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, and is also the chaplain for the Westfield Police Department. He was speaking to the Rotary Club about the Westfield Food Pantry. They have filed 501c3 paperwork to become a separate agency. They hope to find a larger space to store the food, possibly in the Westfield Rescue Squad building. The Rescue Squad is struggling because they do not have enough volunteers, so Keith thinks that a partnership with the Westfield Food Pantry may benefit both. The Rescue Squad is a 501c3 and owns the building they are in.
During the Covid shutdown the Food Pantry had to close because all of the volunteers were older. The Westfield Police Department helped staff the Food Pantry when they reopened.
There are three major food drives in Westfield: by the Post Office food drive, which has been suspended; the Jewish Temple Emanuel; and the Boy Scouts. The food is stored at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, for only up to 30 days, then sent to the Food Bank in Hillside.
The Rotary Club of Westfield does their part to help feed the “food insecure”. They collect food every week and bring it to the St Joe’s Soup Kitchen in Elizabeth, NJ. In addition, the Rotary Club of Westfield has run the “Backpack program” for many years, through the schools. This program supplements the food given to the students on the school lunch program, which only feeds them during the weekday school days. The Rotary Club feeds them on the weekends and school breaks.
The Rotary Club meets three times per month on Tuesdays at noon. For information contact Secretary Dr. D. Michal Hart by email at drmhart@yahoo.com
BRANCHVILLE RC NEWS
Submitted by Ellie Benz (elb@elenorabenz.com)