Volunteers spend weekend making food give-away a reality

Seniors and families benefit from community support for
WSA
by PAUL HILKER – Staff Writer
Volunteers from the Windsor Service Alliance spent the past
weekend hustling and bustling, but they weren’t getting their
last-minute shoping finished. In their usual fashion, WSA
volunteers were providing food for local resdents in need.
On Friday, Dec. 20, more than 100 Windsor seniors came by the
WSA food pantry to pick up food baskets that were prepared for them
by volunteers.
“It worked out beautifully this year,” said WSA Food Pantry
Coordinator Ida Spiller. “I couldn’t believe how fast we were able
to finish things up.”
Thanks to the efforts and generosity of many volunteers,
schools, churches, businesses and other community groups who
participated in food drives this year, the WSA food pantry was
overflowing with food.
Canned food donations began pouring into the pantry on Wednesday
from various sites throughout the community, said Spiller.
On Thursday, members of the Windsor schools PTA brought carloads
of canned food that was collected at various Windsor schools.
After each food item was checked for quality and sorted by
volunteers, it was prepared for distribution on Friday and
Sunday.
On Saturday, Dec. 21, busy volunteers created an assembly line,
bagging food for needy families that would be dstributed Sunday at
the Windsor Grange Hall.
“We’re getting more and more people volunteering every year,”
said Jeanette Doyel, a regular volunteer who comes into the WSA
every Friday to work. “The energy around Christmas time is great.
It’s fun to see people and families come together to help others
out.”
Much of the food distributed at the food pantry during the year
comes from the Redwood Empire Food Bank.
The WSA accepts monetary donations from contributors and uses
the money to purchase food from the food bank in Santa Rosa.
Spiller said she has to make an order from the food bank for the
holiday food baskets a month ahead of time.
“You can’t rely completely on the local food drives because you
don’t really know how much food will be coming in,” she said. “This
year it turned out that we had more than enough food
collected.”
Among the many volunteers at the grange on Saturday were a group
of Windsor Boy Scouts. “The boy scouts deserve a lot of credit.
they did a wonderful job. They are a very dedicated bunch,” said
Spiller.
On Sunday, several more volunteers, including members of the
Windsor Kiwanis Club came out to lend a hand by distributing toys
frm the club toy drives,along with the food bags families
received.
Besides the clubs, and regular volunteers, many local businesses
such as Raley’s and Safeway donate regularly to the food
pantry.
Although Spiller takes on a great deal of the WSA’s work, she
still admits that it is a community effort. “I’m very thankful that
all of the volunteers and groups pitch in like they do because I
don’t know what I would do without them,” said Spiller.
The rewards of volunteering one’s time for a good cause far
outweighs the fiscal costs, dedication and hard work, according to
Spiller. “There are so many people out there that are not as
fortunate as I am,” she said. “I am so blessed that I can’t help
but feel like I need to give to those that aren’t as fortunate as I
am.”