Karen Royce, Board Chair

Since its beginning in 1975 Neighbor to Neighbor has seen a dramatic growth in clients served and how they are served. It has evolved from an organization without a paid staff member or a budget to one that now operates with 10 staff members and an operating budget of $1.9million. Scores of volunteers are still the backbone of the operation. In 1984 the Town of Greenwich asked Neighbor to provide food on a weekly basis for individuals and families referred through the Department of Social Services, now Human Services. In 2005 Neighbor opened the first Client Choice Pantry in CT. Suddenly clients could shop for themselves using a point system based on family size and nutrition guidelines.

At Neighbor to Neighbor, we envision a caring community where everyone has access to nutritious food, clothing, and other essentials. So in an ideal world we won’t be needed in 50 years. However, we know that isn’t realistic. My goal would be for our entire community to be engaged in Neighbor to Neighbor. Currently several local schools, churches and businesses participate in food drives and make grants and donations. I envision a community where every local restaurant, supermarket, and frankly, any local business that wants to participate can support Neighbor to Neighbor through financial and in kind donations. I have found that our community is incredibly generous when asked and provided information. An informed community is important.

Does Neighbor to Neighbor benefit only people who live in Greenwich?

Yes! Frankly, to me it was shocking to understand and see first hand the level of need in our community. I’m from New Jersey, lived in and married in New York City in 2019 and was only spending weekends in Greenwich until COVID. When we moved to Greenwich full time in 2020, I had the same preconceived notions many others do about Greenwich. The simple facts are that 20% of public school students in Greenwich are below the poverty line, many seniors and veterans also struggle with food insecurity. I would encourage anyone reading this to stop by our pantry and see for themselves. Our clients aren’t an amorphous foreign group of people, they are the people we see everyday. Our mission is providing access to nutritious food, clothing, and other essentials in an atmosphere of kindness and respect.

Should every town have a food pantry?

It depends! Yes – the typical lawyer answer, it depends on the community. Smaller communities have more buying power when they purchase food together. One misnomer is that people think we get all of our food for free. We do appreciate the generous donations of food from our community. However, Neighbor to Neighbor has to purchase a significant amount of food including fresh vegetables, dairy, and protein like chicken, eggs, and meat. As we all know, food prices continue to rise as the need in our community increases.

If a town doesn’t have a food pantry, I hope those in need have access to a pantry in a nearby community.

We are delighted that Jen Donnalley is being honored at the benefit.

Karen:  Jen embodies being a Good Neighbor. She has worked tirelessly for Neighbor to Neighbor for 25 years. Before we were officially open on Saturdays, Jen had a key. She and Greenwich Country Day School students would fill bags with non-perishable food for clients who couldn’t make it to Neighbor on a weekday to pick up on Saturday. This was also before we opened our Client Choice Pantry in September 2005.

She has introduced countless students to the experience of volunteering and working to benefit those in need in their community – planting a seed that will grow over their lifetimes. She did all this as a middle school math teacher until she was also made the director of the newly created Center for Good at GCDS in 2019.

Tell us about connecting with Marcus Samuelsson as the special guest.

Angelique:  We are honored and beyond thrilled to have celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson as the speaker for our 50th anniversary event! Marcus is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, author, and activist that truly understands and cares deeply about food insecurity. We reached out to his team and they have been so supportive and really appreciate the importance of our mission.