feature story / 31 Kathy Leventhal helps ensure patrons get produce freshly picked from a local garden. Second Generation Family Owned and Operated for 20 Years. Michael’s Chimney Service LLC & Masonry Contractors 973-271-0026 www.michaelschimneynj.com Chimneys cleaned, repaired, rebuilt, relined. Fireplace & Furnace Sweeps. Keep Your Family and Home Safe this Fall. Time for your Chimney Clean Up. Free check of your heating system flue for carbon monoxide leakage. Free Estimates - Fully Insured 24-hour Emergency Service PSE&G violations corrected. All types of Masonry Work: Sidewalks, Steps, Patios Free Inspection: Chimney, Roof, Gutters Fireplace & Furnace Cleaning: $199 Coupon must be presented at time of contract. Expires 12/15/17 License #13VH07937500 FALL SPECIAL identify where else they can best spend their food budgets. Simply getting enough food into the pantry is a job in and of itself. So- licitations of food from local vendors like Whole Foods, Panera, Goldberg’s and Sonny’s have netted weekly dona- tions of bread, bagels and baked goods worth hundreds of dollars, but these also present logistical challenges. Vol- unteers are needed, for example, to go to Goldberg’s at 3:55 every Friday afternoon before the store closes at 4:00 to pick up the leftover bagels and deliver them to the pantry the next morning. The same goes for Whole Foods and Panera on Fridays at 9:55 p.m. “There are windows where you must perform,” Cahill explains. Cahill’s asset-manager mentality shines through in her strong sense that money received from donors be spent wisely. “We have a fiduciary obligation to respect the money that’s been given to us, and we want to make that mon- ey go as far as possible,” she said. That means studying the weekly grocery fly- ers to keep apprised of sale items and striving never to spend more than $1 on a single item. A big push under Cahill’s direction has been to increase the percentage of healthy food that goes into every patron’s bag. This is easy to do in the summer when some local gardening groups deliver freshly-picked produce right to the pantry’s door. Restrictions of salty and sugary foods are also part of the effort: Cahill refuses to buy ra- men, for example, despite its afford- ability. Cahill, who also serves on the board of MEND (Meeting Essential Needs with Dignity), a nonprofit supporting 16 area pantries, does not anticipate a decline in the need for the pantry any time soon, as it mostly serves the working poor. About 20 percent of pa- trons are seniors, some are emotionally or psychologically disabled, and some have been previously incarcerated. About one-third of those who benefit are children. Patrons submit proof of need, which could be anything from a SNAP card to a letter from a pastor. Cahill brushes off skeptics who won- der if some patrons really need the food. “If they’re willing to wait up to an hour for our little bag of food, I think they need it,” she says.