Members of Daisy Troop 58111 rolled up their sleeves for an afternoon of giving back to the Sharpsburg community with a two-part food and book donation event held on Nov. 6.
Participating Daisies, all first-graders at Fairview Elementary in the Fox Chapel Area School District, donated hundreds of canned goods, perishable meats, fruits, dairy, toiletries other foods to The Community Free Fridge at Second Harvest Community Thrift Store, located at 624 Clay St. in Sharpsburg.
The free fridge concept at Second Harvest Community Thrift Store offers food to anyone, 24/7, with no questions asked.
The pantry is located in the parking lot next to the entrance to the thrift store and features a dry foods pantry and refrigerator and freezer.
People were lined up as troop members took about 30 minutes to fully restock the pantry that was running low on food.
“They really liked helping others and wanted to know what else could be donated,” said troop co-leader Melissa Johnson. “They had lots of questions.”
The donation effort was in conjunction with the Daisies’ most recent badge certification, the Daisy Good Neighbor badge.
The badge requirements took about two months to fulfill.
Troop member Emmeline Johnson noticed folks waiting to select food items while stocking food at Second Harvest.
“It felt good to be able to bring people food,” Emmeline said.
The next donation visit took the Daisies to the Sharpsburg Community Library, where they donated stackloads of books and dozens of bags of non-perishable foods and toiletries.
A free, public food pantry is located in the foyer of the Sharpsburg Community Library and is accessible during regular library hours.
It provides free toiletries and non-perishable food items to the public.
Troop co-leaders Melissa Johnson, Jessica Lambert and Wendy Wolosyn were on hand to read a book about how to make a community a better place during their library visit.
“We’re so happy about the turnout and donation response and hopefully it will motivate others to donate,” Johnson said.
Participating troop members were Emmeline Johnson, Daphne Tekes, Adelyn Turnbull, Ana Gomez, Clara Joyce, Ella Banachoski, Emma Margaret Gallagher, Sadie Henzler, Saylor Wilks and Violet Eberhart.
