SHERBURNE – Few individuals would take it upon themselves to start a food pantry and help their neighbors, but that is exactly what former Sherburne resident Roy Priest decided to do in 2002. From that time until his death Feb. 1, Priest helped people in any way he could.

According to Sherburne Mayor William Acee, that was just the type of person he was. “Roy did this on his own,” Acee said, explaining he thought more people should know about the contributions Roy made to his community. “It was just a nice thing that he did for a lot of people,” the mayor said.

It took only one passing comment for Roy to decide he wanted to help the less fortunate people in the area find the food and necessities they needed. According to Barbara Priest, her husband loved to garden, and each year his garden got a little bigger. Roy was in the habit of sharing his home-grown veggies with his neighbors. “One day I told him, I think you’re planting enough vegetables to feed Sherburne,” Barbara recalls. That comment and a desire to help his Sherburne neighbors inspired Roy to start a food pantry.

Before he retired, Roy worked as a carpenter, and Barbara said she never dreamed he would decide to open a food pantry on his own, but that is exactly what he did.