July & August, 2026

Back in July, we received one of the most spectacular store donations in Daily Bread history: 150 cases (1,500 pounds!) of plump lobster tails from Stew Leonard's. For more than two weeks, we watched delighted guests snap up the tasty crustaceans at a bargain three points a pair.

Stew Leonard's is famous not only for its generosity, but also for its uncompromising "The Customer Is Always Right" policy. At Daily Bread, we are always looking to make visiting the pantry as "store-like" as possible, so should we adopt a similar policy?

Tempting though the idea is, the answer is probably no. It works for Stew's because the policy complements the good-natured, over-the-top atmosphere of the place. Customers understand that the policy, and the rock, are essentially marketing flim-flam. They set the tone, but are not meant to be taken literally. The question for us then, is how do we lift that idea, and make it appropriate for the pantry?

Over 100 years ago, the hotelier César Ritz expressed much the same idea as Stew when he said "le client n'a jamais tort" - the customer is never wrong. I think this subtle inversion, while logically equivalent, offers a more nuanced philosophy, and one more suited to Daily Bread.

Outside of the funhouse atmosphere of Stew Leonard's, "the customer is always right" feels binary and adversarial. It also might put staff - or volunteers - in a difficult position, especially if customers are informed of the policy by a giant rock at the door. In contrast, quietly accepting the principle that "the customer is never wrong" merely encourages us to pause and think about the guest's perspective, without conceding our own position. The customer may be wrong, but not completely wrong.

Which leads to another point: César never got his slogan carved into a rock. By not doing so, he gave his staff room to maneuver, and to respond to the unique circumstances of each guest. We will not be getting a rock either.

Our guests may sometimes be dealing with issues far more challenging than the average Stew Leonard's shopper, or indeed a guest at The Ritz. Which means they should always be given the benefit of the doubt and treated with unqualified respect. At the same time, we must establish and enforce rules, be consistent while leaving the door open for exceptions, and all the while be prepared to listen and respond to concerns and complaints.

That's easy to say, but not always easy to do, especially in the very rare cases when a guest becomes argumentative or flat-out unreasonable. In such cases, never hesitate to kick the problem upstairs to the Daily Bread office. That's not to imply we are any better equipped to handle these situations. But by doing so, you will have validated a guest's concerns, and created some additional space to find common ground.

A final point. With either Stew's or César's formulation, there is a more universal truth, revealed if you understand "the customer" to mean not an individual, but the entire group. I think we can all get behind this, and it may have been understood as such by César's audience. But this is America, and we are individuals. We can read the sign. The customer, c'est moi.

On June 30, we made our second annual trip to watch the legendary Danbury Westerners play the Martha's Vineyard Sharks. The legendary Maureen Garry threw out a blistering first pitch, and a good time was had by all.

With the growing season in full swing and amazing, locally-produced food in plentiful supply, we've been able to offer our guests some of the best that Connecticut farms have to offer. Using funds from our LFPA grant, we've purchased apples from Rogers Orchards, green beans and cucumbers from The Hickories, and lined up lots of other products in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the incredibly generous folks at Ledge End Farm, located right here in Danbury, are now donating not just beautiful and super-fresh hen eggs, but also whole chickens, chicken pieces, chicken stock, and duck eggs. Great food and virtually zero food miles. Thank you Ledge End Farm!

Although it was a very steep hill to climb, we blew the doors off the amount of school supplies distributed to our younger guests during this year's drive. A total of 850 students were served - 38% more than last year. We filled more than twice as many pencil cases, and handed out many more individual items such as composition books, spiral notebooks, and binders. Thank you to all who contributed, and special thanks as always to Diane Schmid and Sirely Shaldjian for their humungous efforts to pull it all together.

Summer's lease hath but too short a date, but that is no reason to despair. Our annual Ice Cream Social is almost upon us and, if you volunteered at least once in 2026, you are invited. If you haven't already RSVP'd, there's still time. Scroll down and let us know your plans.

In the last Newsletter, we asked you to guess the number of cherries in a bowl - and answer three food safety questions correctly. Karen Pricken aced the test and came closest to guessing the number of cherries. Granddaughters Isabelle and Charlotte helped Karen collect her prize.

We rolled out the bowl-of-cherries competition again at Ridgefield's Summerfest. Here are Ann, Willy, Jennifer, and Debbie taking a short photo break from helping spread the word about Daily Bread.

Our Book Nook table got a major upgrade thanks to the ever-industrious, ever-creative Pattie Silver-Thompson. Pattie designed a delightful Daily Bread Bob-themed vinyl top for the table, making the nook even more fun.

We've had quite a few groups helping out at the pantry over the last few weeks. Local businesses Boehringer Ingelheim and Enterprise Car Rentals sent over some great volunteers, and this great group from First Congregational Church of Ridgefield spent a recent Saturday morning stocking shelves, working the checkout counter, and hefting 50-pound bags of potatoes.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave a presentation at the Danbury Library. The main theme was a review of the reductions in support for SNAP and other food programs implemented by the current federal administration. On the whole, much of the news was quite depressing. But at least I could end on a high note by zooming in on the local level. If we can't do much about what goes on in Washington and the rest of the country, we have certainly made a difference to the thousands of families who visit us each year.