
On September 11, the foundation opened the pantry in Cedar Grove, stocked with thousands of pounds of food. It is the first in the town to be run by a charity and the first to serve only vegetarian food. Mr. O’Toole, mayor of Cedar Grove, joined volunteers at a news conference to announce the new service. They have converted a large room into a food warehouse and will closely monitor its humidity and temperature.

Mayor O’Toole toured the facility with representatives from the food bank. He had already seen them in action during the town’s environmental activities: “The spirit you people have is really commendable. We have a town clean-up once a year and you come out in large groups to clean the town of Cedar Grove. I see you out there along Route 23 and stuff like that once a year.” Now that Tzu Chi will play a more important role in the town by providing food to families in need, the mayor promised to help it raise more donations, so that more people will benefit. The chief of the town’s fire brigade, named Mr Young, said that he wished to contribute fresh fruit and vegetables from his own farm to the pantry.
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