After the food pantry at a local church shuts down due to the coronavirus, a Barkhamsted woman steps up to help fill the void.
When a local soup kitchen shut down due to the pandemic, this Barkhamsted woman started her own
Sarah Toomey saw a need and filled it. When the food pantry in the local church had to shut down due to the coronavirus, Toomey, of Barkhamsted, wanted to make sure people still had food.
“Without even a space to call her own — she used some church parking lots, a pop-up tent, and now is feeding 70 people a day,” said Mark Prelli of Winsted, a volunteer who helps Toomey provide daily meals to those in need. “She just jumped in and did it. It’s staggeringly kind and undoubtedly necessary. She’s getting the best out of a whole bunch of people.”
Toomey asked local churches and restaurants for help. Members of the First Church and the Faith Bible Church in Winsted make food — sandwiches or a meal — four days a week. Noujaim’s Bistro and Rowley’s Grille and Tap provide food the other two days, and Mad River Market, which is starting a food co-op in the town, is helping out as well. In addition, Toomey raised $6,000 to buy food; she also is operating a pop-up pantry, which is stocked with nonperishable items and is open 24/7 outside of NW Connecticut Realty on Main Street.
Toomey is a community outreach and recovery navigator at Greenwoods Counseling Referrals in Winsted. It’s her job to help people dealing with addiction and mental health issues.
“She’s making a huge impact in the community,” Prelli said.
The meals are distributed by volunteers in the First Church parking lot.
“I knew the soup kitchen was closing and people were going to be in need of food because a lot of people were going to be out of work,” Toomey said. “I said, ‘OK, we need to do something.’ I started doing a couple meals here and there for people. I
realized the need was greater. I reached out to some people in the town, and together we pulled the churches in.
“We had to adapt to figure out how to do it so everybody’s safe. We created a barrier between the individuals getting food and the volunteers and people preparing the food. Everybody stays socially distanced from each other.”
As of May 26, Toomey estimated her group of about 50 volunteers had handed out almost 3,000 meals in the last eight weeks.
“I see some people I’m familiar with, but there’s a lot of people who were working and they got laid off, some older people having difficulties getting food,” she said. “The schools are providing meals for the kids, but there’s nothing for the parents, so we’re providing for the parents.”
As of June 1, the Winsted Open Door Soup Kitchen at 160 Main St. will open Wednesdays and Fridays for lunch, and Toomey will scale her services back to four days a week — Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. and Sunday from 3 to 4 p.m. The United Methodist Church on Main Street is offering a midday meal Saturdays, and the Salvation Army is on Tuesdays and Fridays.
To make a donation to Toomey’s cause, you can mail a check payable to Mad River Market with ‘food distribution’ in the memo line, to Mad River Market, P.O. Box 13, Winsted, CT 06098. If you would like to make a contribution through PayPal, please send your donation to info@madrivermarket.com with a note, ‘for food distribution’. A donor has pledged to cover PayPal fees for donations up to a total of $100.
Amid the fear and isolation gripping our state right now, neighbors are stepping up in extraordinary ways to help others. In our “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” series, we profile acts of kindness and generosity. If you have an idea, email kmccallum@courant.com.
“I see some people I’m familiar with, but there’s a lot of people who were working and they got laid off, some older people having difficulties getting food.”
— Sarah Toomey