Greece Ecumenical Food Shelf (GEFS) is an emergency food pantry and member of Foodlink, Inc., part of Feeding America. GEFS’s goal is to make sure that all neighbors in Greece have enough food to eat. With so many new gardeners planting backyard gardens, the food shelf asks home gardeners to consider donating their excess produce to GEFS.
Amy Peritsky, Chair of Greece Ecumenical Food Shelf and Clothing Closet, Inc. says the food pantry outreach program began in the 70s, “A small group of people got together to make sure the food needs in Greece were met and that everyone had enough to eat. Our food pantry has grown as the need has grown. We work with churches and service organizations to reach everyone in need,” Peritsky said.
The Food Shelf was started by church members, it is not associated with any particular church, and has become a truly community-wide organization. In 1983 the GEFS was incorporated and was qualified as a 501.c3 federally tax-exempt organization. At that time a Board of Directors was established and Officers were elected.
GEFS is also partnered with Foodlink, Inc. Peritsky said, “We receive a monthly allocation from Foodlink. This allows us to shop at Foodlink’s huge store where they receive donations from retail stores and the Federal Government. We can make our donated dollars go quite far at the Foodlink store.” Donated dollars are also used to purchase from farmer’s markets and local retail stores.
YMCA Community Garden
The Northwest Family YMCA, 730 Long Pond Road in Greece, contributes fresh produce from their Community Garden to the GEFS. Their community garden program started in 2014. In the raised beds garden, they grow tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, beans and cucumbers. The garden is maintained by volunteers and members.
Sydney John is Health and Wellness Director at the Northwest YMCA, she said, “This year has been unique for our Community Garden. We had no garden last summer because we were closed due to COVID. This year we had a lot of maintenance to do on our garden beds. In past years we have had 15 to 20 volunteers who maintain the garden, this year we have 8 to 10 volunteers doing the same work.”
Pre-COVID, the Y promoted “Intergenerational Gardening” by including volunteers of all ages- families, teens, young adults, and active older adult groups. Their “Bridging the Generational Gap” program partnered experienced senior gardeners and young people working together in the garden, sharing their skills and experiences. “The preschool program also used to be involved with the garden several times throughout the year with the assistance of the garden volunteers they learned about plants and growing vegetables,” John said. The Y plans to bring these programs back after COVID.
GEFS Programs and Services
Each month GEFS serves an average of 445 people. In addition, they distribute monthly baskets to an average of 40 low-income, home-bound individuals.
There are several food programs available through GEFS including:
Client Choice -Households in need may shop for five days of food.
Home Delivery – Delivery of five days of food to households that lack transportation to the Food Shelf or who are home-bound.
Basket Program – Providing supplemental food each month to home-bound individuals with extremely low incomes.
Thanksgiving Baskets -Coordinating the distribution of Thanksgiving dinner baskets, matching community donors with families in need.
When a call comes in to GEFS for food assistance, individuals leave a message and their call is returned by a GEFS volunteer. The volunteer determines the client’s food needs, and offers suggestions for additional assistance such as school lunch programs, and clothing available through the Clothing Closet. If the caller does not have transportation, safe delivery of the food will be arranged.
GEFS’s food and monetary donations come from individuals and community organizations, local churches and businesses, schools, Scouting for Food, Crop Walk, Letter Carriers’ Food Drive, United Way (Agency #1470) and the Greece Teachers’ Association Stuff-a-Bus Food Drive.
Volunteer Program
Polly McCubbin is Volunteer Coordinator and Vice Chair of GEFS, she said, “We are always looking for volunteers to help at both the Food Shelf and Clothing Closet. Right now, we are looking for someone to work as a Verifier. This position requires a person who is a good communicator, is empathetic yet firm, and is a good listener.”
There are a wide variety of volunteer opportunities at both the Food Shelf and Clothing Closet.
They include:
•Drivers to deliver food to families living in Greece or Charlotte.
•Drivers to deliver food to homebound people (3rd Thursday of every month).
•Verifier that accepts calls from individuals needing food.
•Dispatcher that contacts drivers to deliver food.
•Driver that contacts client and delivers food.
•Packer that packs the food boxes for delivery.
•Shopping Assistants who work with clients during on-site shopping hours.
•Stocker that stocks food on shelves on Mondays 9-11AM.
If you need food and live in Greece or Charlotte call (585) 683-9674. Calls are returned Monday thru Friday 9AM-3PM.
Donation checks are greatly appreciated and can be mailed to 500 Maiden Lane, Rochester, 14616.
Visit the GEFS Facebook page www.facebook.com/greecefoodshelf for their “Items Needed” posts.
Food drop off times are Mondays – 9AM-11AM; Tuesdays – 11AM-12 Noon; Wednesdays 5PM-6PM and Saturdays 10AM-11AM at the GEFS, 500 Maiden Lane, Rochester, 14616.
