TAKE FIVE!

November 17, 2020

Amanda Langseder:
Hello. I’m Amanda Langseder, director at community health. And welcome to Sullivan 180 Presents Take Five!. Kat Aiken, I am so glad to be talking to you today from Open Table Food Pantry, free lunch program and pet food pantry. And if you don’t mind, if you could introduce yourself your job title, and just give us a little introduction about your organization.

Kat Aiken:
Okay. I’m Kat Aiken from the Monticello United Methodist church, and we run an open table community meal slash pantry slash pet food pantry every Saturday from 12 to two, no matter rain shine, cold, sleet hot, we go through it all. Right now we are operating outside, right on Broadway underneath the arch. And it’s just grown immensely since we’ve moved our mission outside. So we used to serve about 40 to 60 people monthly, every week towards the end of the month, you’d get a few more numbers because they’re services and or whatever. And now as a blessed week, we served 131 people in two hours.

Amanda Langseder:
And it sounds like an increase in the population that needs you during this pandemic is a huge challenge. How have you all overcome it?

Kat Aiken:
In the beginning we just prayed. We prayed hard because we weren’t prepared for anything like this, obviously. We were prepared for our 40 to 60 guests, monthly. Everything was done by donation and everything was bought in bulk out of Walmart or the Dollar Store or whatever it was that we needed. And our pantry was once a month or on emergency basis, but every week we would have a meal. Once COVID hit, and as you probably know, the stores, their products were very hard to get. You didn’t even want to go in a store at that point, but we couldn’t buy in bulk anymore. So we really had a great challenge in front of us, how to stay supplied. And I prayed, I prayed to God, I prayed hard. And we got a phone call from Heather in Albany. Heather was, and still is, but at that time she wasn’t working because she was a lawyer in the courts. And of course we’re close. So someone up in Albany asked her to reach out to food pantries and see if they would be interested in getting help from whatever was going to get set up. So I told him we would take all help that was available to us because we were in dire need. And we got hooked into the food bank supplies, and I don’t know the program’s name, but the food bank comes every Thursday and pantries can go and pick up whatever product was dropped off. And I think at that time it was maybe eight pallets for each, you know, each pantry had a pallet, so we’d pull in and we’d fill up the pickup truck and there would be some extras and whatnot. And that’s how this happened. It was the Holy spirit moving and supplying us with whatever it was that we might need.

Amanda Langseder:
I want to know what can we and other community members do to support you and your organization? What is it that you need? What would be helpful for you to keep doing your mission?

Kat Aiken:
Well, any product donation, we would take any product or cash donations go a long way. We are now hooked into the food bank of the Hudson Valley. We got our first order on October 7th, our community foundation of Orange and Sullivan- they give us a grant to continue our operations. And we’ve gone through half of that already, but I reached out to them again for another grant because we knew there’s no way we’re going to be able to stand outside in the cold once the winter sets in here. So we decided we needed a shed and they gave us a grant for a shed. So we’re going to be able to continue our work outside through the shed, which we’re waiting for it to be delivered, but we still have to put electric in it. We still have to insulate it. We still have to probably put gutters on it because it’s got a metal roof and you don’t want snow coming down on our guests. We’re going to need help financially to continue what we do. And I know that God will provide the way because I just witnessed to it.

Amanda Langseder:
Yeah, for sure. It sounds like he already has, and it sounds like he’s created in you and an amazing collaborator. If somebody needs help in the community, what are the hours, where can they find your location, your program? How can they get to you and get help

Kat Aiken:
Every Saturday, 12 to 2, every Saturday, we’re here usually around nine o’clock in the morning preparing we don’t get out of here until 3, 3:30. And you’re right. We’re here all day.

Amanda Langseder:
You’re located right on Broadway, correct?

Kat Aiken:
On Broadway 445, right in the middle of Broadway.

Amanda Langseder:
Anything else that you would like to add, or just that you want people to know about your organization before we wrap up?

Kat Aiken:
Um, I didn’t expect this kind of outpour. I’m the grant writer here. I’m not THE grant writer, but I like to say I’m the beggar. So you already start out with it now, you can only go up from here. So I don’t mind asking, but it became a challenge for me because I know everybody was struggling at that time and still to today. And you can see that by our numbers, it’s still getting worse. So I really hesitated to ask, but when I did, I never got a no.

Amanda Langseder:
Thank you so much. The County appreciates you, Sullivan 180, appreciates you and thank you for your time and being willing to be interviewed today.

Kat Aiken:
Thank you. Thank you so much for taking the time to interview us. It’s going to go a long way. Thank you.