Rutherford Food Pantry gets facelift with Eagle Scout project November 20, 2014 BY KELLY NICHOLAIDES STAFF WRITER SOUTH BERGENITE photo courtesy/the rodriguez family Approximately 32 hours of sweat erased the 16 years of wear and tear at the Rutherford Food Pantry, thanks to Eagle Scout hopeful Michael Rodriguez (right) of East Rutherford. After 16 years, the Rutherford Community Food Pantry got a facelift, as Michael Rodriguez s Eagle Scout project for Boy Scout Troop 166 in Rutherford. The 18-year-old East Rutherford resident cleaned and painted the pantry and held four food drives. A family member cleaned and waxed the floor. Local merchants and church groups donated supplies.
Lowe s donated 13 cans of Behr light blue paint and paint supplies, and First Presbyterian Church and Grace Episcopal Church outreach committees donated rolling metal shelves. Family, friends and fellow Boy Scouts donated their time to help Rodriguez. Mr. Bruno s, Appettizio s and BJ s Wholesale Club donated food for the busy workers. Rodes Home Improvement and Flooring in Little Ferry donated services for buffing and waxing. Staples donated a welcome banner for the entrance. photo courtesy/the rodriguez family Many food drives were also held by Rodriguez. "Every little bit helped. Everyone was so generous, and I m very thankful," Rodriguez said. He chose the project as a way to extend compassion, especially during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, and as a way to develop social skills.
staff photo/jaimie winters The dusty, rusty shelves were ditched, and faded walls and dingy floors were transformed. The new pantry features rolling shelves, fresh paint and a cleaned, waxed floor. The pantry currently services 122 Rutherford families, operates with approximately $2,000 a month in donations, and goes through $500-$800 of groceries every week. "I m still a shy kid," Rodriquez says. "I sit in the back of class, lips sealed. I m not into any sports, but I helped start a writing club, and I like the drama club, mock trial, and I m mostly into service clubs. The reason I did it [the project] is to develop certain leadership qualities most people lack. I may be shy but I can serve a crowd. [Through the project] I expressed my ability to lead and give back." Initially, Rodriguez considered doing a landscaping project, but he realized he didn t know much about landscaping. "I figured since I work part-time as a janitor [at St. Mary s High School], I can clean, so I figured I can do something like that, kind of simple but not too simple," he said. The process of transforming the pantry was challenging. Shelves had to be removed before cleaning, and paint prep work was to begin all while keeping the pantry open to the 122 clients it services. "It was a very sequenced project," Rodriguez says. "The stockroom was all faded, and the white paint was turning yellow. The floor was not looking too good. So I ran with a food drive, brought it to the scouts committee proposal. They asked if I thought I could do more. I said I thought the pantry and stock room could use a good painting. It s good for the pantry and helps people."
Approximately 32 hours of sweat went into the pantry facelift between the cleaning, moving items, painting and waxing. The old and rusty shelves were replaced. "We had a lot of cleaning, and then two days of painting, with Boy Scouts and friends and family [the Greens] helping," Rodriguez says. Rodriguez started with the store room actually the 12-by-12 former jail cell space. "I got two friends, my cousin and dad to help me paint it. Two shelves in each cell were painted, the inside walls and gates. Then I had this 25-by-25 pantry. I asked some scouts for help, and I thought they d all be at a zombie run in Brooklyn. Then 12 at a time came in one weekend," Rodriguez said. "The Hodge family helped, and the Green family helped in the store room." Dust was a concern. The pantry s licensed social worker Genevieve Kacmarcik said Rodriguez was a model worker. "Michael was here on time, worked on weekends and around our schedule," added Kacmarcik. Rodriguez s food drives were conducted at ShopRite in Lyndhurst, the Rutherford Public Library and St. Mary s High School and Grammar School. At ShopRite, he expected to net 20 bags of items, and got 105, loading them into his family s van and later sorting them. "I m happy with the results. I expected kind folks would buy maybe half the things on my list. One college student came out with like a crate full of food," Rodriguez said. Kacmarcik gave Rodriguez a list of food and toiletry items needed. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, paper products, Parmalat, coffee, tuna, chicken and ham canned items are the first to go off the shelves. Other items include Spam, Vienna sausage, cooking oil, toilet paper and Beefaroni type items. Shelves are piled with lentils, dried and canned beans, fruits and vegetables, soups, canned meats, bread, paper products, and health and beauty aid products. "ShopRite gives us a discount every week for $500 to $800 worth of products we buy. Families donate one to two bags a week, worth $50 to $60 sometimes. Others donate checks monthly," Kacmarcik said.
The pantry is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. and aids 122 Rutherford families and operates with monetary and food donations. The town does not give any money to the pantry. To qualify, proof of income is required, and it s on a case-by-case basis. The pantry serves mostly Rutherford residents but will take Rutherford church referrals of nonresidents. To qualify, families and individuals needs are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and although income requirement guidelines apply, exceptions are made. "You can have someone earning $100,000 a year who just lost their job, and now have a mortgage and other payments to make. It adds up," Genevieve said.