Community Bands Together Against Food Insecurity For Thanksgiving

By Heather Skinner

ESPERANCE — “I’m just so grateful for the community’s support; so much initiative that people take when they hear of a need to band together, particularly an issue like this,” said Pastor Alisyn Klock, “Food insecurity has no face, has no religion or culture or gender, it’s just the reality that we live in.”

On Sunday, November 16th, Esperance-Sloansville United Methodist Church & Esperance Fire and Rescue Squad hosted an Esperance Community Turkey Stroll. One of the Church’s Food Pantry Facilitators, Sharon Niggemeier, explained that there are 26 families who currently use their pantry. While they’ve provided those who use their pantry with Thanksgiving meals for years, Niggemeier and Pastor Klock confirmed this is the first year their congregation has had to reach out for community help with fundraising the meals due to the increased need, “The greatest demand we’ve ever seen,” accounted Niggemeier.

Last month, Verelyn Robertson attended the regular Esperance Village meeting to start coordinating event efforts with Fire Chief, Matthew Deffer. When attending Esperance events this year like The First Responder Service honoring Firefighter and EMS volunteers and the Esperance Historical Museum’s Soup and Stroll, Robertson could be found volunteering and sharing joy with attendees. The same can be said of this event, where Robertson captivated kids before the cookie decorating activity with turkey poster facts she put together for the occasion; male turkeys are called toms or gobblers, flocks can be made up of 40 to even 200 birds at a time, and Robertson shared a recount of seeing a turkey flock eating in a field the day before the event on her way to Duanesburg.

Brendan Fox was dressed as a turkey to lead the stroll, which took place around the fire trucks inside the Fire Department due to the snow and strong winds. “Before we go,” began Fox, “Can we all put our turkey wings on, and then look up and say gobble, gobble, gobble? 1,2, 3!”

The group gobbled along the way and was let into the Fire Department by Secretary/Treasurer/Auxiliary Director, Angela Burman. Burman made coffee and hot cocoa for attendees and said the Fire Department donated a bunch of food as well as the pastry platters that were out to enjoy during the event. Robertson and Pastor Klock shared appreciation for the Fire Department being the event location with tables and coffee setup, and credited it as a great place to meet within the community and work together with.

Burman said Fire Department events gain a lot of momentum once Fall hits, right up until Easter and Memorial Day. They recently hosted a family fun Halloween celebration, Pancake Breakfasts are running every second Sunday of the month at 115 Church Street from 7 AM - 11 AM (breakfasts are by donation, cash & Venmo accepted), and by the Food Pantry monetary donation bin was a flyer showing they are still accepting vendors for their December 20th Christmas in Esperance event (those interested in vending can reach out to Burman at 518-487-9214). Christmas in the Village of Esperance will start with Breakfast with Santa and include a tree lighting later in the day. Follow Esperance Fire and Rescue Squad on Facebook for more event details and updates. Those wanting to donate to the Fire Department can send payments through Venmo to Esperance Volunteer Fire Department @evfdNY.

Non-perishable items, laundry detergent, and monetary donations were being collected during the Turkey Stroll, and many familiar faces came to give and show their support. Active community member Sylvia Williams, new Esperance Village Trustee Rachel Jeffers, and Historical Society President Ken Jones dropped by with contributions. A Confirmation Class met Pastor Klock at the event to decorate cookies before their class, providing the opportunity to engage kids in local missions.

Resident, Jennifer L., brought a mix of Thanksgiving-themed and general foods that are good to have on hand and said, “We think it’s a wonderful thing they’re doing here, especially in this time of the year.” Jennifer L. added, “It’s a local community event helping local people that are in need, and food and security is a big issue for everyone, so we want to be a part of helping our community.”

The day before the Turkey Stroll, Esperance Elks #2507 donated a check for $800 and an additional $200 in cash to the church’s Food Pantry after finding out about the event, according to Robertson and Pastor Klock.

There was no set donation goal to reach by the end of the turkey Stroll; whatever came in would be a help with final food shopping on Friday and the food donations being distributed on Saturday, said Niggemeier.

Pastor Klock hopes to not be in the same financial state next year, so the organizations plan to play it by ear to see if this Esperance Community Turkey Stroll will be needed again in the future. Pastor Klock confirmed that either way they plan to, “Continue to support our community in ways that we can figure out how to,” and they hope to also continue to partner with the rest of the community for those ventures, adding, “The longer I’m here, the more I realize how deeply we’re all connected to each other.”

The Esperance-Sloansville United Methodist Church Food Pantry offers confidential assistance and accepts donations all year long; reach out to Food Pantry Coordinator, Wendi Richards, by calling 518-248-2185. Church services are Sundays at 11 AM, and kids can arrive at 10:45 AM for Sunday School class.

(Left group photo from left to right) Dawn Snyder, Lexi Gage, Verelyn Robertson, Angela Burman, Brendan Fox, Pastor Alisyn Klock, Sharon Niggemeier, Lauren Deffer, and Arabella Deffer. (Far right top & bottom photos of turkey cookie decorating provided by Angela Burman.) (Right top) William Ward. (Right bottom) Dalton Ward.

Photos from the Turkey Stroll led by Brendan Fox around the fire trucks. (The 2 photos on the far right top & bottom provided by Angela Burman). Mayor Royce Gage was at the event, as was Brian Deffer (past Fire Chief/father of current Fire Chief, Matthew Deffer).

Mikayla Rivenburg is in the Church Confirmation Class and donated corn, macaroni & cheese, and soups, “To help people in need.”

A Food Pantry donation and this photo was given to the Esperance-Sloansville United Methodist Church from the Esperance Elks #2507. On the Church’s Facebook page, they posted this photo and, “A huge thank you to the Esperance Elks #2507 for their generous donation to our Food Pantry! Your care for our neighbors truly makes a difference, and we are deeply grateful for your partnership in supporting our community.”