To The Editor:

On behalf of the FAITH Food Pantry volunteer team and the 100+ families served by our food pantry this Thanksgiving week, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the residents of Newtown for their extraordinary generosity this season.

Your donations — whether Thanksgiving meal supplies, canned goods, pantry staples, Amazon wish list items, or financial contributions — made a real and immediate difference for neighbors who might otherwise have struggled to put a holiday meal on the table.

We were truly moved by the spirit of kindness shown by individuals, our local firefighters, families, schools, businesses, and community groups who stepped forward to help. Each contribution, large or small, played a vital role in ensuring that our pantry was well-stocked and able to meet the increased need during the holiday.

We would like to thank The Newtown Bee and the Baggett and Smith families, for their long-standing dedication to FAITH. Thank you to Ingrid Schneider from Villarina’s Pasta Shop — she’s the epitome of what a local small business is — thoughtful, kind, and always thinking of others first. To Steve Ford from Butcher’s Best — you’re such a large part of what we do at FAITH, we cannot thank you enough. To Angelo from Sal e Pepe — thank you for all that you do for FAITH every week. To Caraluzzi’s in Newtown — thank you for allowing us to collect donations in your store all year long and for the very generous donations delivered to us these past few weeks.

Finally, to our amazing group of volunteers that work so hard every single week for FAITH — thank you! YOU are the reason that we do what we do!!

Newtown’s community has always demonstrated remarkable compassion, and this year was no exception. Thank you for continuing to show what it means to support one another. Because of you, many local families were able to celebrate a very happy Thanksgiving with their families.

Lee Paulsen

FAITH Food Pantry of Newtown, Inc