Volunteer Spotlight – Rich Winters
The Second Chance Foods Renaissance Man!
Thank you, Rich, for sharing all your talents!
We are so excited to spotlight an integral member of our team, Rich Winters. Rich has been involved since 2020 and serves on the board, built our mobile cooler and two walk-in coolers, builds and fixes things around the kitchen, distributes meals, maintains the books, files IRS forms, and, if you can believe there’s more, washes the dishes. We don’t know what we would do without his dedication, attention to detail, and diverse skill set. Thank You, Rich, for volunteering an almost incalculable number of hours over the last few years and helping us grow our impact in every way.
250 Hours of Expert Volunteering
Rich came to Second Chance Foods in 2020 through the Rotary Club of Southeast when we needed to increase cooling capacity to expand our food rescue efforts, and the club provided a mobile cooler. His volunteering followed when the COVID pandemic highlighted local food insecurity and he’s been a valued member of the team since!
In 2022, we estimated Rich volunteered over 250 expert hours of bookkeeping and engineering skill valued at more than $40,000! That’s not even including the extra time he takes to help wash dishes and clean the kitchen which is also an incredible value to our operations.
"I’m 'Retired' so volunteering has allowed me to keep and even expand my skill sets. Meeting and becoming a fellow volunteer provides for the social aspect that working people may find while being employed. Time is always an issue, but I get enjoyment being able to work at something that’s honest, important and sometimes demanding." -Rich
Ongoing Commitment to Hunger Relief
Since 2020, Rich has joined the board and currently serves as Treasurer, maintaining the accounting records, reports, budgets, and filing IRS documents – for which we’re incredibly grateful! Beyond helping govern, Rich really rolls up his sleeve to serve our mission. He proudly takes on sink duty in the kitchen every Tuesday, then gives the kitchen a deeper clean twice a month. It’s not a glamorous task, but without him we couldn’t provide healthy, delicious meals to our neighbors in need.
As a member of the Rotary Club, Rich also helps serve some Second Chance Foods meals through the Putnam CAP soup kitchen and delivers additional meals during the winter months to the Brewster Cares homeless shelter. Because when you volunteer with Second Chance Foods, you’ll never stop seeing opportunities to expand hunger relief and food justice.
"Seeing neighbors in distress reminded me of the family stories I heard growing up. It was a reminder of why my immigrant grandparents left their homeland and how their children suffered through the Great Depression. I continue to be astounded by Second Chance Foods throughput statistics and its complex matrix of moving donated foods and prepared meals to people in need." -Rich
Rich grew up in Queens where he “survived” 12 years of parochial schools. He lived on Long Island with his wife, Cecilia, for 11 years, then moved to Putnam in 1987 where he’s been since. His favorite vegetable is “lettuce…as found in a BLT on a roll with extra mayo.” Rich loves talking about how things are made, why they stopped working or would never work to begin with, Putnam County History, and the birds at his feeders.
Interested in Joining Rich and Volunteering?
View a variety of opportunities to get involved! Join us once or make volunteering regular part of your week like Rich. From sorting, packing, prep, cooking, and cleaning – there is something for everyone.