Webmaster posted on April 07, 2011 05:12
(NECN: Ally Donnelly ) - Each quarter, NECN and Citizens Bank team up to honor a Champion In Action. This quarter's honoree is The Family Pantry in Harwich, Massachusetts.
By being named a Champion In Action, The Family Pantry receives a $25,000 grant from Citizens Bank, as well as a campaign of public service announcements from NECN.
To view photos of the Award presentation - click here
On a brisk April morning, Betty Eldredge checks in at The Family Pantry in Harwich, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. The Chatham woman has been coming here for free groceries on and off for the last few years. "Peanut butter and jelly?" queries a volunteer. "Yes, definitely," Eldredge replies.
Two years ago the single mom of 3 teenage boys broke her back. She can't be on her feet for long so manages just 10 hours of work a week. She does receive government assistance, but says it's just not enough. "It was the hardest thing in my life to walk through the doors the first time," she says. "You're afraid, what are people gonna think of you." But she swallows her pride for her kids -- before coming to the pantry, there was a stretch where all she could afford to give them was crackers and peanut butter. "It killed me," she says, tears filling her eyes. "It just broke your heart."
Clients can come to The Family Pantry once every three weeks. It is staffed almost entirely by volunteers -- hundreds who -- among other things warmly help clients pick and choose among cereals, breads, soups and the like. Executive director Mary Anderson is the only full-time employee. Her father helped found the non-profit decades ago. She says, "We rely totally on donations and grants. We're not federally funded. We're a private, non-profit, non-denominational organization."
Over it's 21 years, the Family Pantry has seen an uptick in need every year. Since 2005, it's seen an increase of 40 percent more clients needing help. "It's the service industry jobs that are prevalent on the Cape," says Anderson. "There's not a lot of high tech, there's not a lot of really high-paying jobs, so if you look at the cost of living and the wages, there's a disconnect in what people can afford."
Among the pantry's offerings, there are plenty of canned goods, but -- in a country run roughshod by obesity and diabetes -- not as many fresh fruits and vegetables as Anderson, would like. "The more nutritious foods are more expensive and they're harder to manage because I can only buy today what I can distribute today to keep it at it's freshest," she says. To try and solve that problem, the pantry is crafting it's own garden. Come mid-spring, they'll plant fruits and vegetables and more than 30 fruit trees. "We find our clients want the basics -- lettuce, tomato, squash, green beans, cucumbers and then a lot of fruit," says Anderson.
Brandy Knorr, a first-timer who just got out of prison is excited about fresh fruit, but this day scored something a bit sweeter. A once 24 dollar, now free, bakery cake for her 4-year-old daughter's birthday party.
Knorr says proudly, "She doesn't know where it came from, she doesn't need to know. It's just, she's gonna have a nice big cake now so a nice smile on her face."
As a child blows out her candles, a mother's wish granted -- with a little help from an extended family.