Dave’s Notes: Nov. 2025
Greetings, neighbors and friends. Now that the Summer sunshine has given way to Autumn's long shadows, we cruise into the harvest season, the spooky season, the giving season. Here at Our Place, it's Basket Season. This is when we begin sourcing the thousands of pounds of food that Our Place will give out to folks in our community for the holidays. We kicked off this year's Basket Season at our Empty Bowl Dinner held on November 9th at the Saxtons River Inn. Our Place is very grateful to all those who attended, supported, volunteered, and donated to this year's event. It was a very successful and fun event with a sell-out crowd, lively auctions, and lots of good cheer. We’ve increased the number of baskets for Thanksgiving by 40 percent—that is a huge increase! This is all possible from the generosity of this community.
If you feel you missed out, we are now raising funds for the baskets going out for the December holidays. You can find details or make a donation here.
Our Place is also at the beginning of our fiscal year, and this season has brought a change in board leadership. I want to thank our outgoing and longtime Board Chair Sarah Campbell for her years of leadership and support. The staff and I wish Sarah success in her latest business endeavors and genuinely appreciate that she’s not leaving us for good, just taking a break from the chair position. Please help me welcome our new Board Chair, Dr. Michele Moore (Michele Hansen). Michele has come back to the Our Place Board this year after a hiatus. She is very passionate about our mission and I am looking forward to working with Michele in mapping the future of Our Place. I am excited and motivated by the many more good things coming our way
Work has begun on the facelift to the Our Place building facade on Island Street in Bellows Falls. The old asbestos siding has been removed and the construction crew will begin installing new siding and windows very soon. This work is the first phase in several new projects happening here in the next many months to allow Our Place to meet the increasing demand for our services and be able to provide those services in a more dignified, efficient, and community-focused way. It is our plan to have a grand reopening gathering in late spring or early summer 2026. We will reintroduce Our Place to the larger community and celebrate with everyone the good work that is done here every day. Keep an eye out for that announcement—it's bound to be a great time.
I will close this installment of Dave’s Notes with a fact about Our Place. Our Place is almost entirely funded by donations large and small from people like you. We do not receive any money directly from any state or federal government agency, aside from a small appropriation from the municipalities we directly serve. A minority portion comes from grants from local foundations and donations from local businesses, but the vast majority comes from individual donors. We strongly believe in our mission of providing a safe, respectful, and welcoming place where anyone from this community can come and share a meal in the company of their neighbors, and we are thankful for your commitment to that mission.
On behalf of the staff, the board of directors, volunteers, and clients, we all wish you a safe, joyful and happy Thanksgiving and a great big thank you for your support.
Dave
David Billings, Executive Director
Our Place Community Food Center
dbillings@ourplacevermont.org
Office: 802-463-2217
Cell: 732-261-8900