After just four months, the super pantry is operating like a well-oiled machine. But there is always room for improvement. With hundreds of new volunteers and a much more complex operation, we all need to be on the same page. Or at the very least, in the same library.

This is why we have created Daily Bread University. Congratulations, you are in!

More prestigious than Harvard or Yale, but without those tiresome $75,000 annual fees, DBU is your ticket to a more fulfilling volunteer experience. It is also a key component to making the super pantry the very best it can be. Last week, we kicked off the curriculum with Guest Registration 101, but many more courses are in the works.

At DBU, you will learn the nuts and bolts of pantry jobs, but also tackle deeper philosophical inquiries such as:

• What is food insecurity anyway?
• Where does our food come from?
• Why do we have so much tomato soup?
• This box refuses to break down: why does it hate me?
• Yes! We Have No Bananas. But why?
• If a scanner refuses to scan, is it still a scanner?
• How do I cheat at Daily Breadle?
• Why is that guest driving a nicer car than me?

Courses will be available on the super pantry campus and online. Stay tuned. In the meantime, Professor Debbie Landzberg has created some job-specific study guides. Available now outside the Daily Bread World Headquarters office.

A hardy bunch of Daily Breaders braved 100°F temperatures to watch the Danbury Westerners crush the Sanford Mainers 8-1. Actually, we really turned out to watch Gladys "Curveball" Almonte throw out the first pitch in her inimitable style. Gladys, you are a National Treasure!

We recently welcomed State Senator Julie Kushner, who spent a couple of hours touring the pantry and speaking to our guests and volunteers. Senator Kushner has followed the progress of the super pantry from vision to reality, and it was great to show her the operation in full swing! National Treasure Gladys is joined here by another National Treasure, JP Trudel.

Over the years, we have seen some pretty spectacular food drives. This past month, however, we perhaps witnessed the greatest of all time. For his Eagle Scout project, Vishal Basker planned and executed a food drive that collected almost 3,000 pounds of food.

That was just the start. Vishal, assisted by his fellow Troop 116 members, also collected enough money to buy a huge amount of personal care products AND make a sizeable cash contribution to the pantry. But wait, there's more! Vishal organized an amazing group of Troop 116 scouts to volunteer at the pantry over a three-day period, providing some welcome youthful energy to the regular crew.

Our admiration and thanks to Vishal, his Eagle Scout advisor Phil Kearns, other scouts and leaders at Troop 116, Vishal's mom Sangeetha, and all others who contributed to this project.

All the rain and the recent heat have been really good for our new raised beds. Under the nurturing care of Debbie Fantel and Susie VonEggers, the tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are coming along nicely, with the beans not far behind. And flowers too! Thank you to the Moody/Fantel family for making this wonderful addition to the pantry come to life. Last, a shout-out to Mangabeira Maintenance (father Edmundo, and sons John and David) for their work on the project and throwing in some complimentary weedwhacking too!