Food Pantry Sends Out an Urgent Call for Donations

The sluggish economy has reduced the stock at the Farmington Food Pantry to unacceptable levels, according to the organization’s chairwoman Jennifer Hopkins.

While half-empty shelves are not unusual for this time of year, the demand has risen sharply.

“Since 2007, client attendance has increased 73 percent and during the summer months, pantry shelves dwindle,” Hopkins said. “The Boy Scouts made a food drive in November and we had a flyer sent out through the post office for a May drive, but I don’t know what happened. We didn’t get the numbers we usually get.”

The Pantry, located in Amistad Hall in the First Church of Christ, has the following wish list: soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, laundry detergent, feminine products, healthy snacks, juices for kids, cereals and oatmeal, tuna fish, all condiments and paper goods. Hopkins asks that residents do not bring soups, pastas, macaroni and cheese or anything on which the expiration date has passed.

Tax-deductible donations can be made payable to the Farmington Food Pantry and mailed to 75 Main Street, Farmington, CT 06032. Food items can be dropped off at Amistad Hall in the white bin just inside the main entrance.

Children, Hopkins said, suffer the most. Parents are helped considerably by the breakfast and lunch programs provided at the schools but summer vacation places an added burden on their resources.

Hopkins encourages residents to sponsor food drives.

“If people are willing to have a food drive, that would be excellent,” she said. “Also, if somebody wants to bring it up at a place of business. Do a jeans day and bring a bag of food in. Kid-friendly food drives with snacks and juices are great. Kids love them when we have them.”

People in need of help are referred to the Food Pantry by the town’s Social Services Department.

“[Depleted shelves] happen a lot during this time period,” said Nancy Parent, Social Services director. “People are away and they don’t think about giving and the needs of the Food Pantry. We’ve got some kids whose moms and dads are working and need to be self-sufficient so they need snacks and warm-up things that kids can do.”

Parent said referrals are coming at a higher rate than ever before.

“We’ve had 23 new families in the last six months and typically in the past it’s been six a year,” she said. “In 2005, we helped anywhere from 24 to 35 for financial help. This year alone, we’ve had 66.”

She added that people in need are encouraged to apply to the state for food stamps, but they aren’t enough.

“Families would apply for $100 to $200 a month and if you have teenagers, that’s not enough to sustain them,” she said. “The Food Pantry was a secondary source to help supplement food stamps. In some cases, it’s become people’s primary source.”

Hopkins praised the effort on the part of town businesses, such as Pritchard’s Package Store in Unionville Center, for having food drives. Stop & Shop provides food vouchers, which she said has been very beneficial.

Another popular program involves the filling of backpacks for children during the school year.

“You fill up a backpack for the weekend and leave it in the school office on Friday. The kids drop them off on Monday,” Hopkins said.

She cited Gifts of Love, FoodShare and Feeding America as “wonderful resources.”

Many people, she said, are surprised that a food pantry is important in a town of Farmington’s means.

“They’re helping people in Avon and Simsbury, too,” she said. “It’s needed in areas you wouldn’t think.”