Brewster Central Schools are not in session this week because of winter recess, but that didn't stop two faculty members from dropping off food their colleagues recently collected for charity.
On Tuesday afternoon, Brewster teachers Art Holzmann and Rob Gallacher delivered hundreds of pounds of food, along with monetary donations, to three local pantries: Putnam Community Action Program in Brewster, Brewster Community Food Pantry in Brewster and Putnam Lake Food Pantry in Patterson.
"This is something we do in the height of winter, after the holidays, because this is when the food pantries are at their lowest reserves," Gallacher said.
The donations marked the 15th year that the Brewster Teachers' Association has held the drive, which saw contributions from the Transportation Department, too. Gallacher said that the donations to Putnam Lake were in honor of Matt Oliveri, a former Brewster High School student who died suddenly earlier this month.
Here is a breakdown of the donations, as provided by Gallacher:
BHS: 400 pounds, $370
Henry H. Wells Middle School: 400 pounds
C.V. Starr Intermediate School: 200 pounds
John F. Kennedy Elementary School: 400 pounds, $100
Garden Street Elementary School: 250 pounds, $40
Transportation Department: 150 pounds
District office: 50 pounds