By Dan Gilbert

The Kiwanis Club of Weston and Weston High School Key Club members were out in full force Saturday, January 25, 2025 receiving donations of shelf-stable food and personal care products for clients of the Weston Food Pantry.

With temperatures in the mid-teens, Kiwanians and Key Clubbers reached out to Westonites shopping at Lily’s Market and the Weston Pharmacy.  The Community Food Pantry President Anne Bigin noted:

“For years, Kiwanis has been a steadfast partner to the Weston Food Pantry, helping to ensure that families facing food insecurity have free access to vital resources.  Thanks to the collective effort of the Kiwanis members and dedicated students from Weston High School, the drive was a tremendous success. Over 40 bags of shelf-stable food, pet food, toiletries, and household products were gathered to replenish the pantry’s shelves. 

The generosity didn’t stop at the physical donations. Residents of Weston also gave generously in the form of cash donations, raising a total of $416.  The event not only provided essential items, but it also reinforced the sense of community spirit that defines Weston.”

The Community Food Pantry, Inc.‘s (d/b/a Weston Food Pantry) mission is to stock non-perishable items so that no one in Weston goes hungry. The Weston Food Pantry’s most significant activity is providing free supplemental food weekly to those with food insecurities.

In the photo (Photo credit to Jim McMorris), from left to right are Leka Mustafa, Julien Horovitz, Genevieve Small, Dan Gilbert, Anne Bigin (President Weston Food Pantry), Steve Thomas, Karen Chrisley, Phyllis Gary, Dallas Kersey, and Ryan Bigin.  Not pictured above are Kiwanis volunteers Reed Ameden, Dave Burns, Tom Failla, Frank Ferrara, Jim McMorris, Judy Stripp, Ed Hutchins and Key Club volunteers Tabi Cappella (President Weston High School Key Club), India Kreger, Eleni Perez-Christoforidis, Charli Marto, and Antonina Chmiel, as well as, Justin Lisbon who helped move donated items to the food pantry.

Next up for our club is the Super Bowl party the club sponsors for veterans experiencing homelessness at Applied Behavioral Rehabilitation Institute’s transitional residences in Bridgeport: Homes for the Brave for men and The PFC Nicholas A. Madaras Home, Connecticut’s first and only community-based transitional home exclusively for women veterans experiencing homelessness and their young children..