[By Nancy A. Olson]
Two Putney Central School students, Raina, a sixth-grader, and Jenna, a seventh-grader, held a bake sale during the school’s holiday gift bazaar on Friday, Dec. 16, and raised $71.20 for the Putney Foodshelf.
“My mom and I talked about doing 12 acts of service this year,” Raina said, “and I wanted one of them to be for the Putney Foodshelf.”
Raina noted that because some PCS students and their families use the Putney Foodshelf, “I like having one so close.”
Baked goods available at the sale included chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, M&M brownies, and Raina’s grandfather’s fudge.
“Everything sold out,” Jenna said, adding that she had done some taste-testing so she could speak to the deliciousness of the items if customers asked.
People were generous in supporting the cause.
“We got donations from people who didn’t even buy stuff,” Raina said.
Raina and Jenna have been best friends for over nine years. They like sharing their ideas.
“We were thinking about a gingerbread cookie house and a raffle,” Jenna said, “but we decided on the bake sale. Because I play hockey and have homework and school, it’s better if I do a project on my own time.”
Raina is also very busy. She has performed gymnastics for eight-and-a-half years, and is starting ballet lessons in January.
“I’m a third-generation ballerina,” she said.
Susan Kochinskas, a Putney Foodshelf board member, met the girls at PCS to thank them for taking the initiative to raise money for the food shelf.
“Everyone has a right to food,” Kochinskas said. “People have different reasons for needing to use the Foodshelf—they might get too sick to work, or they lose their job, or they’re not paid a living wage. In 2015 the Putney Foodshelf, which provides healthy supplemental food to area people in need, served 75 households. The Foodshelf had 57,000 pounds of food go through it. Without that food, some students wouldn’t come to school with packed lunches.”
The Putney Foodshelf, located at 10 Christian Square at the Community Center (side-ramp entrance), is open Tuesday evenings from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. The phone number is 802-387-8551. The email is putneyfoodshelf@gmail.com.
“If others learn about this act of kindness,” Kochinskas said, “maybe the girls’ initiative will inspire others to take action.”