BELLOWS FALLS — Our Place Drop-In Center is welcoming new leadership as David Billings takes the reins from retiring executive director Lisa Pitcher.
Pitcher retired in August after leading the food pantry for 12 years.
“We appreciate all that Lisa and her staff have done to address the needs of our food-insecure neighbors,” Our Place (OP) board president Sarah Campbell said in a news release. “Change is challenging, but we look forward to a new perspective on how we carry out our mission.”
Billings brings to the position 20 years of experience in sales in the food and beverage, culinary and financial services industries, including running a family restaurant for a dozen years in New Jersey, his home state. Along the way, he was a financial advisor with investment firms, worked in mold remediation, and sold cars.
Billings said his goals for the moment are to beef up the organization's donor relations through increased donor recognition and to highlight the work of Our Place through a quarterly newsletter.
“We've heard that local nonprofits aren't getting the word out about the good work they're doing and how they're accomplishing their mission,” he said. “We owe it to our donors to let them know how their gifts are being used.”
Our Place restocks its food pantry with its annual Overflow the Opera House fundraiser, held this year on Thursday, Sept. 22. Food and monetary donations may be dropped off at a drive-up spot in front of the Bellows Falls Opera House from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The staff currently serves about 100 packaged breakfasts and dinners a day. Additionally, each month they provide food stuffs to 93 families representing 175 adults and 82 children, and another 31 boxes of food delivered to homebound individuals.
Our Place, a food pantry located at 4 Island Street, says its mission “is to offer help with food and other essential needs in a nonjudgmental, safe, and respectful atmosphere.”
It serves families in Rockingham and the surrounding towns, including Walpole and North Walpole, N.H. Information is available by contacting Our Place at 802-463-2217, emailing [email protected], on the web at ourplacevermont.org, or on Facebook.