BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Our Place Drop-in Center will hold its annual Overflow the Opera House food drive Friday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This year’s drive will be different due to Covid-19 restrictions, with the collected food loaded directly into trucks and taken to the food pantry at Our Place rather than hauled into the theater to fill every seat.
“We are so grateful to our friends at Chroma Technology and Sonnax for their help in making the drive happen in spite of the circumstances,” said Our Place director Lisa Pitcher. “They have been wonderful in their support and especially in the great display they created for the window at Edward Jones in the Square.”
The drive will also get a boost from Peter “Fish” Case, general manager of WEEI The Peak radio, who has arranged a live broadcast in front of the Opera House to remind those listening and those driving by about the food drive. Our Place volunteers will also be on hand to accept the donations curbside.
The food pantry is especially in need of nonperishables such as canned fruits and vegetables, soups, tuna, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, spaghetti sauce, rice, baby food, cereal, juice, and toiletries. The center also accepts cash, which it uses to purchase food from the Vermont Foodbank.
Donations of food and cash can be dropped off at the Opera House or at Our Place during the same hours.
Further information about Our Place can be found at www.ourplacevermont.org, on Facebook, or by emailing ourplace@sover.net or calling 802-463-2217.
Now in its 28th year, Our Place is a daytime drop-in center that offers help with food and other essential needs in a nonjudgmental, safe and respectful atmosphere. Although not open for in-house dining during the pandemic, each month it has continued to provide food staples to about 100 households and more than 1,700 to-go meals, plus food deliveries to 34 homebound seniors.