Several Rotarians gathered at Crackers for a pop up social. It has been about a year since the last pop up social and these Rotarians enjoyed the get together.
Leaders Making a Difference at Home & Abroad
 Rotarians recently filled 441 boxes with food that will help food insecure older adults have nutritious meals. |  Led by Walt Sobczyk, our club completed more than 25 service projects during the 2020-21 pandemical year. |
 The Foodbank has gone high-tech with a new machine that seals the boxes with the help of skilled Rotarians. |  Emptying boxes of rice, beans, pasta and other food generates lots of cardboard that needs to be recycled. |
Norfolk Rotarians pitched in to help clean Sarah Constant Park in Ocean View. They picked up litter ranging from cans and plastic bottles to cigarette butts and shards of glass. They even found part of a watermelon which had been discarded. Pictured above are Sally Hartman, Chris Bugg, Tom Ambler, Kelly Stefanko, Walt Sobczyk and Sigur Whitaker. Not pictured are Lorna Cochrane and Martha Ambler.
Have you ever wondered about all of the food distributed the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia? They collect tons of pounds from individuals and grocery stores which needs to be sorted before it can be boxed for distribution. Cans have to be checked for freshness (six months beyond the "use by date" with the exception of baby food which expires on the "use by date"), ingredients must be listed, and the cans cannot have sharp edges (which lets microscopic amounts of air get in which then spoils the food). Peanut butter jars have to be opened to make sure they haven't been eaten (yes, that happens). The product is sorted by volunteers and then put into big bins which are later used to pack the boxes which are distributed. Pictured above are Sigur Whitaker, Chuck Spence, and Marilyn Gowen who participated in the sorting of food.
Bob Ash, our longtime member and past Rotary Club of Norfolk president, is the subject of this excellent article by Phil Walzer written as Bob retired as an Old Dominion University engineering professor and one of its longest-tenured professors. Click here to learn about Bob and his amazing career.
Norfolk, VA 23510
United States of America