This week’s blog post is about community—and what that word truly means to us.
In the world of Widgets, community means staying connected. It’s sharing tips and wins, asking questions, learning from each other, and passing along skills we’ve honed over time. It’s the conversations that happen through this blog, our Widget World Wednesdays monthly Zoom calls, our newsletter, and the many phone calls and emails we exchange with you. That connection is at the heart of what we do.
But community doesn’t stop at Widgets.
Community is also where we live—and how we show up for the people around us. So if you ever notice that early in the week we’re a little slower to respond to a question or ship an order, there’s a good reason. Chris volunteers one morning a week as a cook at Gather in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an organization dedicated to ending hunger on the New Hampshire Seacoast.
In the world of Widgets, community means staying connected. It’s sharing tips and wins, asking questions, learning from each other, and passing along skills we’ve honed over time. It’s the conversations that happen through this blog, our Widget World Wednesdays monthly Zoom calls, our newsletter, and the many phone calls and emails we exchange with you. That connection is at the heart of what we do.
But community doesn’t stop at Widgets.
Community is also where we live—and how we show up for the people around us. So if you ever notice that early in the week we’re a little slower to respond to a question or ship an order, there’s a good reason. Chris volunteers one morning a week as a cook at Gather in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an organization dedicated to ending hunger on the New Hampshire Seacoast.
Chris is part of Gather’s “Cooking 4 Community” team, a group of volunteers and staff who transform donated food—much of which might otherwise go to waste—into delicious, nutritious meals that are free to take away. The team prepares homemade soups, meals, sides, and desserts, packaging everything into ready-to-go containers so community members have wholesome food when they need it.
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A typical five-hour shift last week looked like this: Chris started in the donations warehouse, collecting donated pasta and brocolli. He then cut 30 pounds of brocolli into florets, cooked the penne pasta, then the brocolli, added diced cooked chicken and cheese sauce (all donated by food service companies, restaurants and supermarkets), and then plated the finished dinner onto 138 take-out servings.
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While the pasta dish cooled, he spent an hour in the dish room washing pots and pans, then labeled and racked the containers before they were whisked off to the Pantry Store for Gather members to pick up.
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So if you ever wonder why we’re a little less responsive now and then, just know that Chris may have set Widgets aside to whip cream—or stir pasta—for a few hours. He’s proud of his weekly contribution to fighting hunger, and we’re proud to support the work he does to strengthen our broader community.
Community, after all, is about showing up—wherever you’re needed most.
Community, after all, is about showing up—wherever you’re needed most.
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