Volunteers work to put together special Thanksgiving boxes at the Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry, which serves the surrounding community by providing much needed food assistance.

Laughter and light chatter wafted up the hallway leading to the basement of the old chapel at the Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry Monday morning. The occasion was a gathering of community volunteers who came together to prepare the Food Pantry’s enormous Thanksgiving effort for area families in need.

Volunteers busy packing food at the Food Pantry, one of Sloatsburg’s important community outreach organizations.

The actual frozen turkeys arrive Tuesday, as do many of the pantry’s some 180 patrons who depend on the generosity of their community to help make ends meet. During the distribution of special boxes of Thanksgiving goods, the Food Pantry is all business and discretion as tables loaded with numbered pre-packed boxes are distributed to patrons.

Among Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry supporters is a special spot for Hayward’s Deli & Market, which quietly and regularly contributes $300 per month to the pantry from its customer donation jar and also supplies the pantry with a monthly milk supply at cost.

“So many people thank me,” said Sloatsburg Food Pantry Director Susan Meyers, “but we have 30 volunteers who give their time to make this all work.” Meyer mentioned the four volunteers who drive their trucks once or twice per month to pick up food or fresh produce, and the many food drives run by local Boy and Girl Scouts or the important donations that continue to pour in.

Together, Meyers said, community volunteers coming together for a cause are the lifeline that support Food Pantry patrons — which have grown over the past year from 80 families to 180 families. The

Thanksgiving boxes lined up and ready for distribution at the Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry.

As the cost of food has risen, dollar contributions are especially important to the Food Pantry, where $1 dollar = 4 meals. Hayward’s Deli, located in central Sloatsburg, has become an important, regular contributor to the pantry, with its customer donation tip jar providing a regular source of income. Ken Hayward, who passed suddenly this past summer, aligned himself early with the Food Pantry and the Hayward family has continued that support.

Meyers has managed the Food Pantry nearly six years, growing it into a thriving important Sloatsburg asset that has established an impressive network of community volunteers and food donation points. The Sloatsburg Library provides a year-round food drop-off point for people. Characters Restaurant, located across Rt. 17 from the UMC Church, regularly holds special fundraisers to support the Food Pantry. The Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce supports the Food Pantry through member food drives. Without all the helping hands throughout the community, the pantry’s task would be near impossible.

Even as volunteers were packing boxes Monday morning, Meyers was busy welcoming new volunteers who want to lend a hand. The payoff for all involved in the Food Pantry effort is the commaraderie and connection everyone makes in supporting those in the surrounding community in need.

The Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry resides in the downstairs kitchen of the United Methodist Church’s old chapel and serves approximately 180 members, including families and students within the Ramapo Central and Tuxedo Union Free school districts. The Food Pantry is part of a larger alliance of food pantries and feeding programs across Rockland County.