Food Pantry Update ~ August 2022

Pantry Statistics for Aug 20, 2022
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“Pop the Trunk” Delivery

# Households Served 107
Total Individuals 263
Children 86
Adults 89
Seniors 88

This month our bags included: eggs, milk, mayonnaise, English muffins, cold cuts, rice, pasta sauce, mac & cheese, canned hash, canned chicken and bananas. We were in the second month of our new egg collection program organized by Harvey Miller and described in our report last month.

This effort produced nearly 2/3 of our distribution target with significant cost savings.
Attendance this month had significant challenges for all our volunteers. Traffic control was impacted first when record numbers of cars flooded the entrance to St. Anthony’s parking lot, backing up onto South Street and the center of town.

Those working at the Community House soon realized the demand for bags was way beyond anything seen – ever. The statistics we capture soon revealed an extraordinary increase in cars from Torrington. We finally diagnosed a Facebook post
from Friendly Hands Pantry in Torrington as the source of this unexpected demand. We recorded 38 new households with significant population by seniors. Previously the largest number of households served was 86 just before the Christmas holiday.

Overall attendance increased 29% from our July Pantry and we served 54% more seniors. Volunteers scrambled to fill 37 more bags than we had ready. By the end of the Pantry our shelved were totally depleted. We were unable to serve some of our regular, local households with the perishable items planned for distribution. In the coming weeks we will be considering how we might prioritize those from our local community
and maintain a monthly distribution with the funds generously donated.

Comments and suggestions on the new challenges we face would be most welcome. As always, we would be glad to hear from you with general questions or specifics about assisting with our plans during the months ahead and the elevated need in our own community which seems likely to continue.

Deborah Foord
Ann Hodgman
Rosamond Quay

Thank you to all who assist us!