Which brings us, in a rather roundabout way, to the topic of this month's email: Where does the food we distribute come from? Don't worry, I'm not about to recycle my fascinating 5th Grade essay tracing a can of Spaghetti-Os back to its amber-waves-of-grain origins. I'm asking the rather more basic question as to where that humble can was immediately before it reached us.

I think there is a common misconception that food pantries such as Daily Bread get all or most of their food from in-kind donations - brought in by individuals during "Donation Hours" or perhaps in a special delivery from folks who have organized a food drive. Indeed, these donations are incredibly important to the Pantry for many reasons - they introduce variety to our shelves and encourage deep community connections for example - but they are a small proportion of what we give out. Especially since the pandemic struck.

As with all data visualizations, the chart is both more and less useful than the underlying statistics. The overall picture is clear though: Most of our food comes from a Food Bank. In particular, the food comes from Connecticut Food Bank. Despite its name, CT Food Bank is not a state entity - it is a non-profit like Daily Bread, just another component in the complex network that forms the charitable food system in the United States. With much hoopla, CT Food Bank has recently merged with another regional Food Bank - Foodshare - but that, and the role of Food Banks in general, are topics for another time.

In any one week, CT Food Bank delivers about 10,000 pounds of food to us. That's five tons. Unless you are in England, where it is around 4.5 tons (don't ask). Either way, it is a lot - and it is the task of the plucky cohort we met at the beginning of this email to unload it and squeeze it all into the limited confines of the Pantry.

I could say a lot more about the chart - how, for example, the categorization is somewhat arbitrary since one category quite literally blends into another - but I have pledged to keep these communications short, and I already see the word count ratcheting upward. As always, if you'd like to know more, just ask me or any other Board member.

Let me close by repeating that EVERY source of our food is critically important. If any one were to disappear, the Pantry would be greatly diminished.

Every awards season, there are some shocking omissions from movies nominated to receive Oscars. Sadly, I have to report that this year is no different. Somehow, the Academy overlooked the work of profound genius linked to here. If you have three minutes to waste, or simply would like to know who won the tea towel in the Civil Rights Training Prize Draw, this is one you do not want to miss! Turn your speakers up to 11 and break out the 4K HDTV for the best viewing experience.

Since deciding to darken your inbox every month with these emails, I have considered including an item called "Volunteer of the Month" or some such. The idea has much to recommend it, but is not without its drawbacks either. On the drawback side, it might suggest patronage or favoritism, when in truth EVERY volunteer, like every can of Spaghetti-Os, plays a vital role in fulfilling our mission. On the other hand, I feel that without acknowledging individual volunteers, we each become too much like a can of Spaghetti-Os, bland and undifferentiated. You see my dilemma.

After much back and forth - I used to be indecisive but now am not so sure - I am launching this segment, in which we celebrate the contribution, achievement, passion, or even quirkiness, of one volunteer. As with this inaugural edition, the thing being celebrated may have nothing whatsoever to do with Daily Bread. It may just be something I found out about one or another of you, and felt important to share.

So without further ado, let's give it up for Alex Camacho, who has created an innovative line of wearable products for the active lifestyle. Click on the link for more details!

That's quite enough for now. Except to note that this email is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Spaghetti-Os. I just like saying Spaghetti-Os.