OFF THE WIRE
TROY — Three years ago, a member of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club
Mountain Chapter 60 saw a note on the door of the food pantry at St. Joseph’s
Church alerting people they had run out of food. So, he rang the
doorbell.
“I spoke to the people there and they said, ‘What can I do for
you?’” said the member who wished to be referred to by “Z”. “And I said, ‘No,
what can I do for you?’”
Z has been organizing this canned food drive for
the past four years. On the day he approached people at St. Joseph’s, he
explained to them the fund-raising efforts in which his motorcycle club was
involved.
Every year, the club puts together a party at Nature’s Bar in
South Troy, where a $20 donation is collected at the door and those attending
are asked to bring non-perishable food items. Leading up the party, though, Z
said there are several businesses throughout the city where they put a box in
front to collect more canned goods.
Charter Holder and Chapter President Joe “Gas Cap” Hartigan, said it could be
any business as hair salons, other taverns and auto body shops that participate
in the effort.
“Some even give us cash donations which we give directly
to St. Joseph’s,” Hartigan said.
This is something the motorcycle club is
used to doing as Z said they have helped other food pantries such as the one at
the Faith and Love Fellowship in Rensselaer and Calvary Methodist in
Latham.
“It’s just our thing to help the community,” Z said.
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“It’s Thanksgiving time
and good can be tough to come by,” Hartigan said.
The need for food hits somewhat close to home for Z as he said there was a
six-week period in his life where he was living off rice. Z recognizes these are
hard times for a lot of people and there are some people who could find
themselves in a precarious position in the blink of an eye.
“The economy
is so unstable that anybody at any time could be working for a company and could
be told they’re not working there anymore,” Z said. “Some people feel funny
about asking for public assistance and the food pantry can be a bridge for them
until things get better.”
Z also added with the country constantly going
over to help people in foreign countries, there still needs to be some focus on
helping people in the United States.
“It’s nice to help out a fellow
American,” Z said. “This is our time to do that.”
Andrew Beam may also be
reached at 270-1294.
