TAPTF DECEMBER NEWSLETTER
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members” ~ Coretta Scott King
What an exciting month it has been for our little organization! We have been growing exponentially in connections and partnerships, which has directly improved our ability to donate to our local food banks and other charitable outlets. Recently, the DNRec Sportsmen Against Hunger program offered 200 lbs. of freshly butchered venison. We delivered packages of the meat, along with produce from Totem Farm in Milton and Rustic Acres Farm in Rehoboth, to local chefs who transformed the goodies into healthy ready-to-eat meals for donation.
Established beneficiary partnerships with Milton Food Pantry, CRC in Rehoboth, Casa San Francisco in Milton, and Lighthouse for Broken Wings (collaboration CRC/Family Promise of Southern Delaware)
Established donation partnerships with commercial farms and restaurants (Totem Farms, Rustic Acres Farms, Hunan’s Chinese Restaurant in Rehoboth, Po’Boys in Milton, and Station on Kings in Lewes)
Cass (and the boys) have begun construction on the first greenhouse in the network here at our house.
Filed the tax forms to be certified 501(c)3
Applied for Local Foods/Local Places organizational assistance grant
Website developed https://taptfsociety.org/ (it is live – check it out!), with an associated email address: teresa@taptfsociety.org
Exploring the development of, and sites for free-access (“take what you need, leave what you can”) pantries in locations of need, inspired by the “Little Cupboard” at Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lewes.
Hunan’s in Rehoboth made and we delivered 25 meals of Szechuan Meatballs.
Po’Boys in Milton made and we delivered 28 quarts of Venison Gumbo.
Between us, we have delivered 200+ Meals and over $500 of other food items since November 4th.
The very talented artist, Cass, created our Logo (seen at the top of the page)
We have a business checking account and tax-deductible donations can be made on the website, or by check to our address:
The Teach a Person to Fish Society
18545 Munchy Branch Rd.
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971How do you define the terms “community”, “citizen”, and “neighbor” in a spiritual context? What is our moral responsibility to our neighbors and community? Many in our communities are struggling due to the pandemic, financial insecurity, lack of connectedness to services and assistance, “food deserts”, isolation, and fear that they will not be able to meet their family’s basic needs. I recall the recent horror of watching entire crops of food and gallons of milk being destroyed because of a break-down in the food supply-chain. In a country so rich with resources, it hardly seems possible that “nearly 1 in 4 households have experienced food insecurity this year”.
On the bright side, we are inspired by the daily acts of generosity that we see in our community. If you are a cynic, these acts are easy to dismiss as the “holiday spirit” that will pass in a few short weeks. This year, I hope we stretch it long into 2021 because I truly believe that we have the power to knit our fractured society, from rugged individuals left to pulling themselves up by non-existent boot-straps, into a “beloved” community in the truest sense.
The link to the article below, “The Sustainable Future Town of Your Imagination” is a good short-read that accurately describes what we’re trying to build. Thank you for thinking of us, Vicki Nichols:)
Food Safety
A few partners have expressed concern about the safety of the meals we are delivering to our charitable partners. It is definitely a valid concern, but I want to reassure everyone that we are on it. I formerly worked as a pastry chef and was required to be ServSafe (safe food handling) certified. More recently, I have been certified to teach the ServSafe course at DelTech although I haven’t been able to actually instruct a session yet thanks to COVID. The meals we get from restaurants are frozen immediately after they are made, and delivered to the food banks/outlets still frozen.
Peace, Love, Joy & Happy Holidays to all.
Cass & Teresa
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