The Windsor Locks Food Pantry, under the umbrella of Social Services, provides food weekly for many…read morefood deficient families in town. I've been volunteering there since the beginning of this year (minus the three months when I was recovering from a broken wrist). Couple things. Stockpiles / shelves are getting seriously low. Our pantry is mainly dependent on Foodshare and donations from locals. Families are vetted. Some of the recipients are homeless or live in cars. Consider volunteering at a local pantry or soup kitchen, and consider donating money and / or food. It seems as though our director is weekly shopping at Walmart to buy canned and boxed non-perishable items that we would otherwise run out of. Finally, if any of the readers of this review want to donate to the Windsor Locks Food Pantry, message me and I'll send you specifics on how to do so. Thank you

"Because I'm hungry for those good things, baby Hungry…read morethrough and through I'm hungry for that sweet life, baby With a real fine girl like you" (Hungry - Paul Revere and the Raiders) "Hungry" should be a word in a song lyric and never a word needed by someone in real life. The Windsor Food Bank's Mission Statement is simple. It strives to ensure "that no resident goes hungry, is cold, or is without basic necessities". They offer community assistance in the forms of food, fuel, prescription medication, public transportation passes, and vouchers and gift cards for their clients to buy household items and clothing. I became involved with the Windsor Food Bank when I was asked to run a charity event at work. After speaking with their Windsor Social Services, we agreed to host a food drive for delivery in early November. The WFB was very responsive to my e-mails and always answered my questions promptly, like when I asked if they had their own collection boxes we could use. We borrowed six of their plastic crates that folded up flat and were very easy to transport and set up. WFB also gave us a list of their most needed items -Peanut Butter and Jelly, Pasta and Spaghetti Sauce, Macaroni and Cheese, Canned Meats, Crackers, Cereal, Baked Beans, Canned Vegetables, Canned Fruit, Fruit Juice, Condiments, Coffee, Tea, Hot Cocoa, Paper Towels, Tissues, Personal Care Items, Soap and Shampoo, and Baby Wipes. They also gave us a list of Thanksgiving items - Instant Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Gravy Mixes, Canned Vegetables, Bread and Muffin Mixes, and Dessert Mixes. We printed these on some flyers and posted them in four of our different business centers. We set up their collection boxes around our work campus and delivered everything today. They were waiting for us with manpower and rolling carts to unload our three cars and a truck. We all worked together to move the cans and boxes and jars and packets inside. After we took a group photo, we were walking back to our vehicles and it struck us all as to how good it felt to have done this collection program. The WFB needs your help, and they need food donations more than they need volunteer hour donations. They accept donations from 9 am to 4pm Monday to Friday.

December 13, 2020 I…read moreglad support any Food Bank. Each dollar turned into seven dollars worth of food, so if I send dollar five cents, is turned into seven dollars and thirty five cents worth of food. That is the start to help children, this situation children of Windsor, Connecticut. This is second review of this Food Bank. Glad help children of Windsor, Connecticut, The Constitution State. As I write this, I know tomorrow is another date mark of the shooting at the school of Newtown, Connecticut. My thoughts and my prayers still with friends in Newtown and all over state of Connecticut.

You may have donated a few cans of soup to Foodshare over the years, but did you know they have…read moreCommunity Service volunteer opportunities for you and your team, either in Windsor or Hartford? Our offices sent a team of 14 over to Windsor this morning and we spent three hours sorting meats and poultry donated by local supermarket chains. There were many job functions and stations necessary for us to sort through 5,950 pounds of food. When the food is donated by supermarkets, all of the different meats are stored in a Foodshare walk-in freezer in big plastic bins- so the bins were full of every sort of meat found in your supermarket's meat and poultry cases. Here is what we did: Station # 1 - Big pallets full of the bins that the frozen meats were packed were delivered to us via forklift. We opened up the bins and sorted the meat by type- beef, ground beef, poultry, pork, lamb, veal, specialty, sausage, bacon, etc. Stations # 2, 3, 4, 5, -The sorted meats went to a dedicated line where teams packaged cartons for the specific types of meats. We put a sticker on the outside of the carton (beef or poultry, etc.), inspected each package for damaged packaging, marked over the UPC with a Sharpie, put a Foodshare sticker on each package, and weighed the cartons we were creating so they clocked in between 28 and 32 pounds. When a box was completed, it was stacked on a rolling cart. Station # 6 -The rolling carts were brought over to a ten degree walk in freezer where the finished cartons were stacked by category onto pallets - 24 boxes to a pallet. Station # 7 -The bins we emptied out had to be wiped down, sanitized and restacked. It was a lot of fun to see how everyone worked together doing all of these different tasks. After a while, we were efficiently working as though we were a team that had been doing this work for 5 years. It was quite a rewarding experience. Go grab your work buddies and give it a go.

In lieu of favors at our wedding last month, Jason M. and I made a donation to Foodshare. It was a…read moreno-brainer to select this charity because they have served many families in-need in the Hartford area. Making a donation was very easy to do online. Not only did I get a thank you card, I also got a thank phone call from a representative! I felt good that my donation was very appreciated. Thus, I will continue to support Foodshare whenever I am in the financial situation to give.

Connecticut Foodshare Headquarters is located in Wallingford, Connecticut. Connecticut Foodshare…read moresupports individuals and families from one end of the state to another by addressing root causes, creating long-term solutions, and distributing nutritious food through local partner programs to alleviate hunger. I got the opportunity to volunteer at Connecticut Foodshare from a fellow foodie who invited other foodie content creators. We had a great time, and we were able to help families all across the world. We had to go through an assortment of foods to ensure they were good, and we made boxes with assorted foods. We packed 16,637 pounds of food that would provide 13,864 meals for families. I'm excited that we had the chance to volunteer at Connecticut Foodshare, where I became an integral part of a team and provided essential support to those facing food insecurity.

Connecticut Foodshare HQ is located in Wallingford, CT with 85,000 square feet of space running…read moreoperations with 120 employees and gets assistance majority from volunteers. They have a beautiful mission to deliver an informed and equitable response to hunger by mobilizing community partners. I got the opportunity to volunteer with a group, all invited by word of mouth to sort produce separating spoiled products from the good ones. The staff were incredible with giving us the information we needed to directing us on how we can assist multiple families in need. At the end of the day, as a group we boxed 16,637 pounds of food that would impact 13,864 meals. That's incredible for 3 hours! It is amazing work and I commend all their staff for what they are doing every day to feed families in need!

I had a highly dissatisfactory experience with MACC Charities. The worker I spoke with (Shan non)…read morelacked empathy and there was a sense of her gaining satisfaction in her efforts to humiliate. She was unsupportive and verbally tried to discourage me from my life's aspirations. She went so far as to pretended to be an expert in a field she is not, all in efforts to derail. I asked her not to speak to me in a condescending manner, and she continued to abuse her false sense of power. I reached out to this organization during a time of need and was told by the worker that they don't "do hand outs". That if I was a worker for a company instead of being self-employed or unemployed (with no UE benefits), they'd have helped. In other words, they try to bait people into mediocrity and don't help those who need help. It's also been brought to my attention that their employees are not reflective of the population they supposedly serve (ie: lack of staff diversity). Perhaps they need to be audited to ensure their funds are being appropriately allocated, and ensure fair business practices. I discourage businesses from investing in or with the MACC organization. I also advise that their employees be mandated to take (and pass) unpaid sensitivity training and do mandated volunteer work in urban communities so they can gain perspective. I advise you donate, invest or partner in an organization that's more customer centric in their approach to humanity.

The Church Mouse is opened and looking great! A beautiful children's corner with many adorable…read moreoutfits from 3-6 mos through teens sizes... clothing as well as Shoes, sneakers, books and toys and stuffed animals.. The new designer corner is the place to buy high quality clothing, shoes and bags for very low discounted prices. Books, many cards for all different occasions for a mere 25-50 cents each. A nice variety of books, scarfs, pocketbooks and a variety of men and womens, jeans, pants, shirts, shorts and bathing suits. Take some time to browse and pick up some great bargains.

I had the wonderful opportunity of volunteering at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and it was…read moresuch a great experience! The staff was wonderful and I loved how they have tips for staying healthy and low budget recipes to try which I can't wait to share with my friends and family. Thank you for all you do!!

Quote from Main Page "The Rhode Island Community Food Bank…read moreworks to end hunger in Rhode Island by providing food to people in need. We envision a day when all Rhode Islanders have access to nutritious food and a healthy lifestyle." The amount of goodwill provided by this organization is amazing. Through programs like the Community Kitchen, Kids Cafe and the Express Pantry, Rhode Islanders in need have access to food and can work on learning critical skills for life. Volunteers are always welcome here. I could not think of a better organization to become a part of. From sorting in the food bank, to working in a community garden or even helping out in the Community Kitchen, there is something for everyone. Please go to the website if you are in need of assistance or are looking to become a part of the organization!

This review is regarding volunteer experiences at the Regional Food Bank…read more I've volunteered at the food bank about 8 times with a service organization (we have an ongoing monthly "date" scheduled with them) and overall my experience there has been positive. The people are generally friendly and flexible. Volunteer duties generally involve sorting and re-packaging donated goods for distribution to local charities. If you're looking for ways to contribute to the community, this is a good place to go. Approximately 75% of the food bank's labor hours are provided by volunteers so they're open and appreciative of volunteers.

This is an excellent place to volunteer. You email them to sign up, they get back to you in a…read morereasonable amount of time. When you show up they are ready for you with a plan and they are thankful for your help. There is plenty of work to do while you are there so you feel like you are making a difference but they do not compel you to stay longer than your assigned shift- which I appreciate. You work hard for the time you are their and they respect your time. They do great work in the community and I am happy to have helped them out on three occasions now. I look forward to returning.

I have two children that attended this school for a few years. I will say that when we first…read morejoined the studio, we were very happy to meet the teacher and get started. Miss Heather was the teacher at the time and she was knowledgeable about dance, fully engaging with all of the children (every age group) and also put all the parents at ease. It was a small studio but it was packed with goodness. That was 3 years ago. Miss Heather passed on and the business was taken over by her sister. We stayed on w the studio and we quickly found that the new teacher, Haley, was not a trained dance teacher! We had signed a contract so therefore we were obligated to finish out the year (we will not be returning now that the year is finished). What I found in the last year with the studio was very unprofessional leadership, neither of my daughters were challenged or learned any new dance moves, the children were not put in classes based on ability but rather, to make it easier for scheduling on their part. Example, my 16 year old daughter (third year acro) was in a class with 5 year olds that were first year and still learning very basic moves. In my opinion, it became more about fundraisers, after hours wine parties, a place to hold a birthday party and such. It became time for us to move on when I realized that my daughters (who LOVE to dance) would moan and groan about going to class because they felt they weren't being challenged. Because of the lack of learning and being challenged, my daughter (younger daughter) would occasionally daydream and rather than pulling her back into the dance routine, the teacher called her "annoying" in front of the whole class. Sad to say that the quality of this studio has gone down, the teacher is not qualified and the ability to engage the students is also totally absent. I would not recommend this studio. I have read the response and I stand by my review 100%. I highly recommend visiting and seeing for yourself and asking for dance teacher credentials. Also speak to families that have gone before you, as I can guarantee there is not a 97% return rate. I know of more than 5 families not returning next year.

Very unprofessional. Manager/Owner tends to talk about everyone and share private information (who…read morehasn't paid tuition). Plays parents against each other. No mirrors in the studio. Studio is set up like a living space without any private rooms for the dancers. Dance teacher is an art major, did not go to school for dance (she did grow up dancing) but she took over the business her sister started. Three dogs and a rabbit live at the studio in a back room on a full-time basis.