Coronavirus: Food Pantries 'Level Of Need Is Higher Than Ever'

MANSFIELD, MA – The request was a simple one — one that might provide a small bit of comfort to some Mansfield residents already often anxious about where their next meal will come from amid an extraordinarily anxious and scary time throughout the country. The request was for brand-name cereal for the Our Daily Bread Mansfield Food Pantry.

It was a request the food pantry posted on its Facebook page in hopes the town would come through for its neighbors. The response was touching and fulfilling for the workers and volunteers who continue to bag orders and deliver items each week during the new coronavirus health emergency.

The response was as much as Maria Smith, inventory manager for Our Daily Bread, could have imagined.

"That was a huge success," Smith told Patch. "People here have been great in that way.

"I love doing this," Smith added. "I won't lie. It has been a little stressful the last few weeks. But at the end of the day when you are putting food in the trunks of people who need it as they drive through, it's very rewarding and heartwarming."

Pam Denholm, director of the Weymouth Food Pantry, said it has been the same type of feeling there as the pantry has had to alter its entire operation to allow for social distancing among volunteers and drive-thru delivery to those in need, at a time when she said more people are leaning on the pantry for their weekly supplies than at any other in it 32-year history.

"The first couple of weeks (of the business closures) were very stressful for everyone," Denholm told Patch. "We were constantly evaluating and updating what we were doing, and the level of anxiety out there was very high. We had people calling us all day asking what our protocols were, and the calls were coming from people we had never seen before.

"These are people who don't have the luxury of going to the store and stocking up on items. They have to shop week to week, so when they did go to the store with whatever food resources they had, and the shelves were empty, they were in a panic. Some of the phone calls we got were heartbreaking," she added.

Denholm said a portion of that panic has subsided in recent weeks as residents have come to realize the Weymouth Food Pantry is a source of food they can count on to be there for them for however long the health emergency lasts.

"Everyone has settled down a bit and the level of anxiety has dropped," she said. "But the level of need is higher than ever. I've never seen anything like it."

In Mansfield, the in-store shopping experience has been replaced with curbside pickup or mostly pre-ordered items. Those Mansfield residents using Our Daily Bread either fill out an on-line form or email a request each week that volunteers do their best to fulfill.

Smith said she's lost some volunteers who no longer feel comfortable being out amid coronavirus fears, but have gained some volunteers eager to help. She said there are between 10 and 15 volunteers doing the packing during most weekdays and 26 on Fridays and Saturdays. Our Daily Bread is open from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays for pickup.

"That we are having people call us wanting to volunteer has been a big help," Smith said. "I was asking myself the other day: 'Are we doing more now per week than we were before?' It sure seems like it."

Denholm said that since many of the Weymouth Food Pantry volunteers were seniors that number has dropped way off because of their vulnerability to the virus, but she still has small groups of people who volunteer together in the same shifts come in and package the items for pickup. She said volunteers are sent to stations at least 6 feet apart from each other and that the building is sanitized after each shift.

"We are very fortunate that our volunteers are phenomenal," Denholm said. "We couldn't do it without them."

Smith said all of the Mansfield volunteers wear gloves and face masks while in the building as well.

While both pantries still accept food donations, Denholm said monetary donations help the Weymouth Food Pantry be more flexible to fit needs and stretch the dollars further with distributors.

"We have more people relying on us but the building is the same size for storage," she said. "So if we ask for peanut butter, and we get hundreds of jars of peanut butter, we have no place to put all the peanut butter. We'll move them eventually, but it will take a while. In the meantime, like now, we have no rice. So if people are willing to trust us with their donations we can make the best use of it."

Denholm said whether contributions have come in the form of food or money, the spirit with which they are being donated has been reaffirming to see.

"There is a really strong sense of community here and people willing to do things for other people," she said. "It's amazing. It's incredible. It's one positive that a lot of us will take from this experience. When the going gets tough, people really come through."

Those looking for a food bank their community can look for one here.

(If you have a story of a local business or organization that is looking to lend a hand to those in need during the coronavirus pandemic,or lift spirits amid social distancing and isolation, Patch wants to let people in your community know about it. Contact Scott Souza at Scott.Souza@patch.com to help us spread the positives during this uncertain time.)

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