HOLLY NADLER
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It’s February and the signs of spring are everywhere in the form of people shouting, “I just can’t take it anymore!” and booking it out of the 10 degree weather into the nearest warm state (who cares if it’s a thousand miles to the south?) I know that natural signs of spring have sprouted up here and there, but you’ll have to point them out to me under this latest blanket of snow.
February at the Food Pantry means our larders are bare. We still have our basics, our pre-packaged bags of mac ‘n cheese, rice, pasta, peanut butter, cereal, beans, and so forth, plus our plastic sacks of potatoes, onions, carrots, oranges, apples and bananas. But the miscellaneous food items collected from our signature lavender boxes in grocery stores and libraries, or donated by food drives at churches and schools, are gone. In other words, our cupboards resemble Mother Hubbard’s.
The miscellaneous edible collection is the jewel in the pantry crown, sparkling with the kind of foodstuffs we never see when shopping; they’re right there on the shelf, but we’re all too intent on finding our own tried-and-true staples that we fail to notice them. My Monday afternoon coworker, Marie Connolly, will sometimes exclaim things like, “Look at this! Have you ever seen cinnamon raspberry scone mix before? What about this can of red lentil and coconut milk soup with cumin and turmeric?”
These rare treats arise mostly in the fall, after summer people have combed through their cupboards to see what they’ve neglected to eat and will therefore donate to the pantry. As F. Scott Fitzgerald put it, “Summer people are different from you and me,” or something to that effect. The difference is that they have the money and time to graze the grocery shelves and discover such luxuries as beach plum-ginger jam, and curried cashews.
The Marie Antoinettes of the world are inclined to snap, “Let them eat mac ‘n cheese!” but the pantry’s miscellaneous food table brings a little lift to all who come to the basement of the stone church to feed their families, hoping to bring home the rare treat. When that selection is gone but for a few bottles of grapefruit juice and canned ravioli, those of us who work there feel as if we’ve invited people to a Super Bowl party and neglected to stock up on chicken wings, chips and onion dip. Or anything.
So after 73 people turned up last Monday and our meager supplies dwindled still more, I phoned pantry director and archangel, Armen Hanjian, and asked if there were some way to solicit more food. And I learned from Armen that — drum roll, please — next week, the Oak Bluffs School is coming to the rescue.
Yes, this time every year, our own kiddies bring donations from home, and traditionally gather together a hundred bags of assorted this, that, and the other. I told Armen I remembered my own grammar school experience back in the 1950s, when there was no direction given — none whatsoever — about charitable activities. All we learned were the three R’s, tetherball, and how to dive under our desks, hands covering our little necks because any day now a commie missile was going to smash through our windows. Ah, how sweet are those walks down memory lane!
So to the youngsters in Oak Bluffs, thank you in advance. And for anyone out there who would also love to contribute, you might want to take a moment to drop a couple of items in the lavender box on your way out of the grocery store. At Reliable, it’s located just beyond the two checkout counters on the Circuit avenue side of the market. Also, next time you’re off-Island, picking up a twelve-pack of toilet paper and a crate of canned chili at Walmart or Costco, consider adding a brace of something for the pantry. You can drop it off any Monday, Wednesday or Friday afternoon between 2 and 4 p.m., up until April 15. Just don’t be embarrassed if the staff gathers to sing you an a cappella version of “For he’s/she’s a jolly good fellow!”
And now for some town news: the Oak Bluffs library has some special events slated for the coming week. At 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, the Children’s History Program presents Whaling; wherein Nancy Cole, author of Thirty Dirty Sailors, will discuss the true story of the Edgartown girl who went a-whalin’ with her daddy in the olden days. And on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m. is devoted to toddler storytime, with preschool storytime following at 11:30 a.m.; both events will be focused on valentines.
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