Christmas Tree Shortage Leaves Church With None to Sell
A Chappaqua church has been forced to cancel its annual Christmas tree sale after the company it typically receives its supply from and a backup vendor were unable to deliver the stock.
For the first time since starting its tree sale about 20 years ago, the First Congregational Church of Chappaqua will be without inventory this holiday season, said Rev. Dr. Martha Jacobs, the senior minister at the Orchard Ridge Road church.
Not only will the sale’s cancellation likely put a crimp into the plans of many local families who stop by First Congregational starting around Thanksgiving weekend to pick out their own tree, but the church lost one key revenue source, Jacobs said. On average, the church is able to raise about $10,000 each holiday season, much of it used toward contributing to causes such as helping the needy.
“We do all we can not just to keep the doors open, but to provide to others,” Jacobs said.
There have been many problems that have been caused directly or otherwise by the pandemic during the past 19 months, a shortage of Christmas trees has been one added hurdle. Reports of shortages of real trees have surfaced across the United States as supply chain disruptions continue to plague domestic and international commerce.
Combined with stronger consumer spending and families holding a greater number of traditional holiday gatherings this year, the demand for trees have spiked, according to a Nov. 16 report by CNBC.
First Congregational Church placed its order with its usual supplier in Vermont in July, but was told in early October that the order could not be filled this year. Jacobs said the church then partnered with Rosedale Nursery in Hawthorne, which they have worked with on other occasions in the past, to find a new company to get their trees.
With the help of Rosedale, First Congregational located Cedar Grove Christmas Trees in New Jersey and placed an order for $14,800, which covered the price for the trees and nearly $4,000 in shipping costs, Jacobs said. They were told to expect the shipment by about Nov. 15, buy it never arrived, which placed the scheduled Nov. 20 start of the tree sale in doubt.
When the church tried to contact the company to check up on the status of the delivery, they either received no answer or were given erroneous information, leading Jacobs and others to believe they may have been scammed.
“(We were told) the trees were somewhere in Nova Scotia and the guy who’s our delivery (person), who watches over our deliveries quit, so we don’t know how to reach the truck. He’s somewhere but he will eventually show up,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs said she contacted New Castle police to file a report last week. Last Friday, she received an e-mail from Cedar Grove confirming that the trees would not be coming.
Police helped the church get in contact with a company representative, who assured First Congregational will receive a refund, she said.
“It is unfortunate because it is what we use to help other people,” Jacobs said. “We still have wreaths to sell, be we do not have trees.”
Wreaths will be sold while supplies last following Sunday services and on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. when the church office is open.
The Christmas tree shortage will also cause First Congregational to forgo a tree for its own property this year, Jacobs said.
“We’re just going to have a holiday-decorated something or other,” she said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
