Westfield Food Pantry volunteers Ashley Brazier on left and James Roberts on right with Program Director Melissa Cahalan, center.
Reminder Publishing photo by Amy Porter
WESTFIELD — The Westfield Food Pantry, run by Director Rebecca Hart and her sister, Program Director Melissa Cahalan, is seeking the support of the community in order to maintain operations this holiday season and beyond. Particularly needed are monetary donations to offset costs.
Currently the Westfield Food Pantry, located at 101 Meadow St., is down 28% in donations while the number of clientele is up 30%, according to Cahalan. She said client visits over the past four years have increased by 300%.
According to the fact sheet at westfieldfoodpantry.org, community donations make up 90% of the food pantry’s support, helping 1,200 people each month with nutritious groceries to supplement what they are able to get themselves. Fifty-one percent of the pantry’s clients are children, and 14% are elderly. The food pantry has two part-time paid staff in Hart and Cahalan, and 16 regular weekly volunteers.
Cahalan said monetary donations also help them to cater to the specific needs of their clientele, such as people with dietary restrictions.
The gifts also help them to run special programs, such as the Teen Giving program. Currently, the food pantry is sponsoring 72 teenagers for Christmas and the holidays. Cahalan said the teens, who have been identified by school counselors, are experiencing homelessness, living in hotels, couch surfing or with their grandparents.
“It’s more than we’ve ever, ever had,” said Cahalan. “That’s a big program right now.”
The teens are asked to make wish and needs lists by their counselors, who then give the lists to the food pantry. Included are items such as boots, footwear for jobs, and personal care items, such as shampoo and clothing. They list their favorite colors, clothing size, needs and wants.
Cahalan said they often include on their lists gifts for their siblings. “They’re always thinking of others,” she said. People who want to contribute to the Teen Giving program, may send a monetary donation to Westfield Food Pantry at 101 Meadow St., Westfield 01085.
Another program of the Westfield Food Pantry is their “Food for All” Food Truck, with the food all cooked by Director Rebecca Hart out of the food pantry’s kitchen at 62 School St. The truck, which was recently garaged for the winter, gives out home-cooked meals from March to November.
The food truck serves as a mobile soup kitchen, serving free meals to local residents; a mobile food pantry, bringing free groceries into neighborhoods, and a revenue-generating food truck, selling specialty food at area events to support the Westfield Food Pantry and its free services.
“We gave out 11,000 hot meals off the food truck this year,” Cahalan said, “150 meals a day.”
Other ways members of the community can help is to do a food drive, such as a neighborhood or school drive.
“Food drives are awesome — they’re very, very helpful,” Cahalan said. She said the food pantry accepts both perishable and non-perishable food items. “Something you would want to eat yourself,” Cahalan said.
The Westfield Food Pantry can also now accept Venmo donations on its website at westfieldfoodpantry.org, and on its Facebook page at Westfield Food Pantry. Checks may be mailed to the Food Pantry at 101 Meadow St., Westfield, MA 01085.
The Westfield Food Pantry is open Mondays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon, Fridays, 5-6 p.m. and on the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon.
