Band helps restock food pantry shelves - New Jersey Herald

Band helps restock food pantry shelves - New Jersey Herald

Posted: Sep. 15, 2016 12:01 am

SUSSEX BOROUGH -- After nearly being depleted of funds and supplies following a busy summer, a local food pantry is reaping a harvest of generosity made possible by R.E.N.O. the band.

For Harvest House, the first of the donations began Saturday night and continued Tuesday as a truckload of nearly 70 bags of groceries arrived at its facility in the First Baptist Church of Sussex Borough.

"I think of Harvest House as one of those things that people don't even know it exists," said Tommy Gomez, the founder of R.E.N.O. and its lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. "But we told them this is just a short-term fix and there's more help coming."

For Giovanna Villano, treasurer of Harvest House, the help couldn't have come at a better time. With insurance, utility and other bills accrued over the summer still needing to be paid, the food pantry had recently seen its stocks dwindle to almost nothing. Though it isn't out of the woods yet, Villano is cautiously optimistic the donations will help tide the food pantry over as the fall season gets underway.

It was, of all things, a home visit by Villano's plumber, Bobby Peters, that got the ball rolling.

As he began talking to her, Peters -- who doubles as R.E.N.O.'s second guitarist, vocalist and songwriter -- learned of Harvest House's plight, which he later shared with Gomez.

Villano said that with local children off from school for the summer and some of them lacking other means of being fed during the day, the summer season always exacts a heavy toll on Harvest House. The demand this past summer was particularly high to the point that Villano said she was genuinely nervous about the pantry's ability to continue operating.

"When Bobby (Peters) told me how rough things were, I told him, ‘I want you to take this on,' and so he called her up, told her we'd like to help, and we went down and visited," Gomez said. "Then we told her we're going to dedicate the proceeds of our annual festival to helping Harvest House."

The festival, dubbed RENOfest, included acts by 14 other local bands and took place from noon to midnight Saturday in Wantage. The festival drew an estimated 350 people, Gomez said.

Between Gomez, Peters and the other members of R.E.N.O. -- John Meyer, Tom Marchese and Jimmy J. Hunt -- the quintet of musicians raised $500 from a 50/50 raffle alone, the proceeds of which they presented to Villano on Saturday night.

"I told her (Villano) to go shopping and that we'll be back Tuesday with more," Gomez said.

On Tuesday, Gomez arrived with a check for $1,425 made payable to Harvest House as the result of additional donations received Saturday night. He also presented her with additional groceries -- nearly 900 items of vegetables, fruits, beans, pasta and other items, according to Villano -- that were donated by those who attended Saturday's concert.

As is standard practice, the members of R.E.N.O. charged no admission for Saturday's event and donated all of the prepared food at the event themselves.

Villano, who attended the concert, called it "a wonderful, wonderful affair."

"There was no charge to get in," Villano said. "All they asked people to do was to bring one item for Harvest House, but most of them brought more than one."

Villano said that although Harvest House depends on and appreciates the food donations it receives -- and although it is not charged rent for the space in the church where it operates -- the pantry has other operating expenses few are aware of.

"It costs about $3,500 a month to run Harvest House," Villano said. "We get a lot of food but also have utility, insurance, telephone and other bills to pay."

Gomez said R.E.N.O. is looking to do another benefit this fall for Harvest House. He said since the founding of R.E.N.O. 10 years ago, the band has done 437 benefit concerts, including 126 for veterans' groups, and has cumulatively helped raise more than $1.3 million for local charities.

"Playing music, having fun and helping others -- that's our motto," Gomez said. "We have the most impeccable reputation, and every single penny we raise goes back into the community. Nobody in the band touches any of the money."

Over the last few months, Harvest House also has received food donations from Acme Markets and Holland American Bakery.

"If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have any food left at all," Villano said.

The latest donations, she said, will tide Harvest House over so it can continue serving free meals from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. As it has been doing since its inception 16 years ago, Harvest House also is intending to host annual holiday dinners for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"We become friends with the guests who come through our door," Villano said. "We know all their names, and it's always really nice to see every one of them."

Harvest House is located inside space provided by the First Baptist Church of Sussex Borough, at the corner of Route 23 (Hamburg Avenue) and Route 284 (East Main Street).

Those wishing to donate can also mail contributions to Harvest House, P.O. Box 374, Glenwood, NJ 07418. For more information, call 973-875-6445.

Eric Obernauer can also be contacted on Twitter: @EricObernNJH or by phone at 973-383-1213.