Ray Pecor, 44, is the Food Program Coordinator for Listen Community Services. He lives in Hartland with his wife, Barbara, who is the manager of the Listen store in White River Junction. The following is an edited interview.

We were living out in Arizona and it was a little crazy. My son was 7 years old, and he came home one day and told me somebody showed him a gun. That got me thinking.

I remembered growing up in Barre the worst I ever had was a fistfight. So I talked my wife into moving up here. It took her three years to get used to the cold.

When we first moved here we didn't know a lot of people and we didn't have a lot of money. We were actually kind of staying in our car and we heard about the Haven. They said, "Sure, come on in," and they gave us a hand.

My wife, Barbara, rode a bicycle everyday from the Haven to get to her job at Listen. We were going paycheck to paycheck and didn't have a lot of money for food so we came to these dinners. That's how we started. We worked our way up from the bottom.

I worked at Woodstock Soapstone for seven years. I was a master stove builder, supervisor of the Fireview line, but I was just waiting for this job to become available. Three years ago, my wife and I were in a place where I could take a drop in pay and do what I like instead of trying to make more money.

I was making a lot more at Woodstock Soapstone but I enjoy dong this kind of work. It's instant gratification. And it's a good feeling to give back because I once had to use the services, too.

By putting on these dinners I know that people are getting fed well, they're getting a nutritious meal at least once a day, and they're getting to save money for other bills. Some people do get embarrassed about it, but it's really nothing to be embarrassed about. There's nothing wrong with using a service to benefit your family. If I wasn't working here I'd probably be coming all the time. I don't like to think of it as giving people handouts; we're helping with whatever it takes. People come for the food and for the companionship. It's neighbors helping neighbors. That's what we're here for.