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Person-To-Person Reminds Wilton To Keep Giving

NORWALK, Conn. -- As Norwalk's Person-to-Person prepares Thanksgiving meals to distribute to families in lower Fairfield County, the nonprofit is reminding donors that the need for food continues even after the holiday.

Sen. Bob Duff, Ceci Maher, Rep. Gail Lavielle and Callie Jane discuss Person-To-Person's need for donations after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Sen. Bob Duff, Ceci Maher, Rep. Gail Lavielle and Callie Jane discuss Person-To-Person's need for donations after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue

Person-to-Person Executive Director Ceci Maher joined Norwalk Site Manager Callie Jayne, state Sen. Bob Duff and state Rep. Gail Lavielle at the Norwalk food pantry Wednesday to highlight the need for continued donations of food, money and volunteer hours.

Through food drives and partnerships, the organization is set to deliver 600 Thanksgiving baskets to families in Norwalk, Stamford, Westport, Weston, Wilton, New Canaan and Darien, Maher said.

"On Monday morning when the weekend is over and all the food that was eaten over the Thanksgiving holiday is gone, we will have in the next month over 750 families coming to us for food," Maher said. "We’re going to be serving over 2,000 people with food in the month of December alone, and that means that when the holidays are over and the shelves are bare, we won’t be able to meet that need."

Duff echoed her remarks. 

"We’re asking the community to not forget the needy or Person-to-Person throughout the rest of the year and we’re asking folks to donate items that are desperately needed the day after Thanksgiving," he said.

Among the most-needed items are peanut butter, jelly, oatmeal, dry cereal, juice in plastic bottles, juice boxes, Jell-O, coffee, boxed tea bags, boxes of macaroni and cheese, canned fruit, canned meat, canned soups, crackers, saltines, cookies, canned tuna, and canned spaghetti and ravioli.

To date, the Norwalk food pantry has filled 7,000 food orders in 2014, served 21,000 people and 1,900 individual families. A recent Election Day food drive in Darien and Norwalk collected more than 250 bags of groceries, totaling about 2,500 pounds of food. 

"We have these needs all year round and Person-to-Person is so good at keeping that in the forefront for us and letting us know how many people are in need. So we should remember this now, but we should also remember going forward toward the end of the year and after that," said Lavielle.

The Person-to-Person Clothing Center consistently receives clothing donations throughout the year as people clean out their closets, Maher said. She also encouraged people to be volunteers and work with clients to make sure they get the food they need.

She also reminded Wilton residents of the upcoming Post Office food drive, where mail carriers will be picking up nonperishable food items during their rounds.

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