You are never too old for the naughty or nice list at the Westchester Food Pantry.
The group includes senior citizens in their holiday festivities and bringing presents to those who might not have had one under the tree this year.
The pantry held its annual Secret Santa program distribution this past weekend, bringing in Santa and Mrs. Clause from the North Pole to distribute presents and take pictures with all of their participating clients.
The program was open to children under the age of 18 years old and seniors 65 and older.
“We do have a significant portion of our clients who are either seniors on their own or they are seniors with extended family living in the house,” Amanda Grant, executive director for the Westchester Food Pantry, said. “They are on a fixed income, their budget is extremely tight, they are often making decisions of whether they buy food or medicine…we wanted to really do what we could do to take care of them and make sure they had a happy holiday.”
This year, the program saw an increase in sponsors and were able to provide Christmas presents to everyone who had signed up. According to Grant, the pantry distributed presents to 391 individuals from 180 family units in the Westchester and surrounding area. Each sponsor is matched with an individual and receives a wishlist, said Grant, adding that they are valued between $30 to $50 per person and is anonymous on each side.
Grant said the pantry serves residents from Berkeley, Bellwood, Broadview, Hillside, and Westchester, many of whom are students at the local school districts, including Proviso Township High School District 209.
“Everyone got matched this year, which is pretty awesome,” Grant said. “Some years we worry, is it going to happen or is it not going to happen, but this year, it happened.”
However, as people continue to struggle in today’s economy, Grant worried about not being able to fully deliver if they opened up the program to adults as well, saying that was the reason only children and seniors were eligible this year.
“Every year I think we should open it to the entire family and I worry we don’t have enough sponsors,” Grant said. “We have noticed with rising cost of food prices food donations have been a little lower this year and I worried that inflation would be reflected in how many people would be willing to sponsor families.”
But that does not mean the spirit of giving wasn’t present, pun intended, even reaching out-of-state in what some would consider a Christmas miracle.
Accidentally buying presents for the program, which they did not realize was in a different state than they were located in, Grant said a generous sponsor decided to mail the presents all the way from New York, taking a little inspiration from Santa, instead of distributing them somewhere else.
“They had already done the shopping for the kids, they already had everything picked out and they wanted to finish out the project,” Grant said.
Presents were not the only thing distributed during the event as the pantry was able to provide a table of free books, encouraging participants to take as many as they would like, as well as advent calendars to count down to Santa’s arrival, and other goodies like Christmas craft kits and holiday treats.
The pantry was also blessed with Peter Marzano, a local photographer, who donated his time to take free holiday pictures with Santa to clients, fully editing the photos and capturing the amazing memories.
“He donated his time and talent,” Grant said. “He doesn’t charge for this at all. He just jumps right in and is so enthusiastic. He spent hours editing every single photo putting in a special North Pole or winter background.”
Clients are able to download or print the photos, Grant said.
The day was made extra special by seeing the clients’ reactions, Grant added.
“For some people, especially some seniors who live alone, this will be the only Christmas present they will receive,” she said, adding that families were also super thankful as parents worried about not being able to afford to create these Christmas memories for their children. “They were just not sure where Christmas would come from and you can hear that heartbreak come through.”
The event captures the spirit of Santa, Grant said.
“This anonymous giving, it’s giving for the sake of giving for the pure joy of spreading Christmas and caring,” she said. “I think it is a really powerful thing.”
Grant said the pantry is already thinking about next year and will review ways to continue to grow the program, which might include going digital with the registration, allowing for its translation and increasing the ability to participate for many in the Westchester community.