For regional food pantry, bucks stop here

Thanks to a local legislator’s initiative, the wheels have been put in motion for an integral Nashoba Valley food pantry to become transportation independent.

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge has submitted a $50,000 appropriation for the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry as part of the fiscal year 2022 Senate budget proposal.

That sum will enable Loaves & Fishes to purchase a box truck to transfer groceries from the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, told the newspaper that based on past practice, he’s confident his appropriation will remain in the final budget

Purchasing that delivery truck would signal a 180-degree turnaround from the challenging early days of the pandemic.

Since its inception in 1983, the Barnum Road facility, which primarily serves needy families in Ayer, Devens, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Littleton and Shirley, had never experienced a shutdown of the duration that began on April 3 of last year.

Even after Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts on March 10, 2020, the food pantry tried to maintain its services. However, once the scope of the pandemic hit home, it became impossible to sustain the operation.

“Most of our volunteers are retired, elderly,” Patricia Stern, Loaves & Fishes executive director, told the newspaper at the time. At a high risk of contracting COVID19, Stern said some decided they could no longer give of their time for that reason.

Then the driver of the box truck who made weekly trips to Boston for fresh produce and other items the pantry relied on opted out.

That one-two punch forced the food pantry’s hand, leading to its April 3 closure.

But you couldn’t keep Loaves & Fishes down for long. It reopened its doors later that month, with some coronavirus-required modifications.

During the pandemic, Loaves & Fishes relied upon private businesses to make runs to the food bank. In some cases, they were supplied a truck and a driver, but other times it was a truck or a driver. Pantry officials realized they needed a longer-term solution with some more consistency.

Stern said they started by pursuing a grant, and secured a $40,000 award from the Greater Boston Food Bank, which got them halfway to their goal.

That’s when she enlisted the help of Eldridge, who had helped the pantry before.

“Between his efforts and the Greater Boston Food Bank grant, we now have the truck fully paid for, which is incredible to us,” Stern said. “Because of all the donations that come in, we can put that towards our main mission of food.”

If everything goes as planned, Stern expects the truck will be in use by August. She added Loaves & Fishes has already been in contact with other area pantries about supporting them with their transportation needs.

Every two weeks, Loaves & Fishes trucks in about 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of groceries from the Greater Boston Food Bank.

During a normal pantry session, which lasts for about three hours, Stern said they typically help 40 to 50 families, who receive about $200 to $250 worth of groceries.

When the pandemic first hit, they saw record levels of people who needed help. Right after the governor’s state of emergency went into effect, they were serving from 90 to 110 families.

Those numbers returned to pre-pandemic levels last summer, and the numbers have stayed consistent other than during the holidays. Stern attributes that to additional unemployment insurance, SNAP benefits, stimulus checks, and the ability for children to get meals at school.

However, she’s worried that the need will soon increase as those benefits go away.

In addition to trips to the Greater Boston Food Bank, Stern hopes the truck can support local organizations and businesses who run food drives for the pantry, as well as replacing regular visits from Council on Aging buses that bring food to community members.

We certainly support the senator’s efforts, and urge budget negotiators to do the same.