Southington Nonprofit's Major Food Drive This Weekend To Honor Public Servant Too

Bread for Life

SOUTHINGTON – A Southington-based nonprofit dedicated to battling food insecurity is hosting a major food drive this weekend that will also honor a beloved community servant.

A pre-holiday food drive at Bread for Life this weekend will honor recently-retired Southington Board of Education member and 2025 Betty Kroher Humanitarian Spirit Award recipient David J. Derynoski.

The collection will run from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, outside the organization’s headquarters, 31 Vermont Ave.

Donations will support the meals that the non-profit is preparing to serve around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, according to Bread for Life Executive Director Missy Cipriano.

The wish list includes fresh, regular, and sweet potatoes, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy in the jar, extra virgin olive oil, apple sauce, bottled water, protein shakes, instant oatmeal, canned chicken, canned fruit, cookies, and individually packaged mini muffins and baked desserts.

Gift cards of between $5 and $10 to CVS, Dollar Tree, Subway, and Dunkin for BFL clients are also welcome.

Donors on Saturday will be able to hand off items directly from their vehicles to volunteers.

Derynoski, a Southington native, was first elected to the school board in 1991, the same year that his late uncle, Walter Derynoski, declined to seek re-election after 39 years on the board.

David Derynoski retired earlier this month as the third-longest serving board member in town history, behind his uncle and Urbin T. Kelley, who served for 43 years (1940-1983).

During the collection drive, Derynoski will be bestowed the Betty Kroher Humanitarian Spirit Award for his years of volunteer service on the Board of Education and involvement in the
community.

The award is presented annually to an individual or organization that embodies the “tireless enthusiasm and dedication to helping people” that is the legacy of its late namesake, who served for 28 years as the first and only executive director of the former Southington Red Cross, according to organizers.

For more information, or to make a secure online donation, visit this link.