Sunday, December 10, was supposed to have been the day for the Verona Fire Department to drive Santa Claus around Verona on a fire truck. But with a strong storm in the forecast for tomorrow, the VFD has asked Santa to wait until next Sunday, December 17 to make his rounds.
If you are new to Verona’s fire truck Santa tradition, here’s how it works. Santa Day begins at about 11 a.m. and lasts until dusk. The VFD can’t tell you exactly when Santa will be on your street, so you’ll need to listen for the sirens and holiday music.
The weather delay also means that you have an extra week to gather up non-perishable food, which Santa and the VFD will deliver to the food pantry at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit. VFD members will be accepting non-perishable food items, cleaning products and personal hygiene items. Once Santa has visited every street in Verona, the VFD will deliver all donations to Holy Spirit.
This month, Holy Spirit needs tuna, jelly, peanut butter, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, canned fruit, rice (1 or 2 pound bags), toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, cleaning products, pasta sauce, canned meat, coffee (no k-cups), tea, cookies, crackers, canned beans, cereal, oatmeal, and dog and cat food. The church wants smaller packages, not large restaurant-sized one. It does not now need baby items including diapers, or adult diapers. Please make sure that all of your donations are unexpired and non-perishable.
Holy Spirit’s Food Pantry is open from 9 to 11 a.m. on the fourth Saturday of every month, which will be December 23 this month. Anyone in need is welcome. If you need assistance in an emergency before this date, contact the church office at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (973) 239-2850 to make arrangements. If you are not going to be home when Santa visits, you can drop off any food pantry items in the collection box by the church’s parking lot door.
