The first Thursday of each month for the last several years, the men and women of the Danielson Veterans Coffee House, based in the northeast corner of Connecticut, hand out boxes of food to those in need.
Fred Ruhlemann is the president of the coffeehouse and a U.S. Navy veteran. He said it started as a way to help fellow veterans, but when COVID-19 arrived, they knew the wider community needed them too.
“This crew that you see here during the pandemic, we worked with the USDA, and we gave out every other Saturday 1,400, 40-pound boxes of food … we did that throughout the whole pandemic.”
Post-pandemic, the monthly mobile food pantry is still handing out hundreds of boxes of food with an army of volunteers — many of them in their 70s . They are under the watchful eye of pantry organizer and Navy veteran Bruce Hay. He said he puts in time before, during and after each event.
“I figure I have somewhere between 40 to 50 hours a month for this that we’re putting on right now.”
Hay coordinates with local food businesses who are generous to provide everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, to chips and soda.
But there’s always a surprise every month when Connecticut Foodshare turns up with a loaded tractor-trailer.
“I have no idea what I am getting for food today from Connecticut Foodshare, so it's something I have to do on the fly when they get here.”
Hay and his volunteers take everything in stride and make quick work of the delivery. Cars continue to arrive and line up ready for the 9 a.m. start.
Navy veteran Jean Wintrow is one of the 55 volunteers helping out.
“After I retired, I found I had a lot of time after raising three kids, and it was the right thing to do," Wintrow said. "I joined the coffeehouse first, so we serve breakfast on Tuesday mornings to vets. It’s kind of a follow through they said, ‘hey, we do this too on Thursdays.'"
Wintrow said he is amazed that each month the line seems to get longer.
And as Ruhlemann points out, they’re in the quiet corner and also a poorer corner of the state, according to Access Community Action Agency in Willimantic.
So the food they hand out really does make a difference in people’s lives, as Bronic Stahura and Brian Connett, two local veterans, explain.
“Well, it really helps out the wife and I, and anything that we get I have two or three other elderly people that I give,” Stahura said.
“I’m unable to work right now," Connett said. "It really fills a gap. It’s the difference between losing your house and eating.”
During what seems like a never-ending stream of cars rolling through the mobile pantry, the volunteers give out everything from canned goods to pasta and locally grown carrots donated by a nearby farm.
Hay said the boxes of food are valued at over $100.
And as he points out, come rain or shine, as long as the need is there, these veterans will continue to uphold an oath they took so many years ago, to protect and serve their country.
