September '19 Newsletter

From the Director's Chair 

Dear Friend,

Wow, our Summer Gala was wild this year with the Boston band World Premierbringing everyone to their feet. Tom and Shelly O'Neill, and their host committee, broke every record, and it was an amazing event attended by so many wonderful Pantry supporters. Take a look at some of the fun photos below and mark your calendar for June 14, 2020. We are so grateful for all who sponsored and attended the Gala this year. Thank You!!

Summer is in full swing and so is the Family Pantry. There is always something happening here, and for the past three months we have been working on two videos. The first video is an overview of the Family Pantry facility and what we do. The second video chronicles what a new client will experience on their first visit to the Pantry. It is so hard for a client to walk through our doors for the first time, we are hoping the client video will help lessen some of the anxiety. The videos are below and are short and sweet, I hope you can take a few minutes to watch.

It would not be summer without the launch of the Cape Cod Chronicle's summer "Helping Neighbors" campaign. This is an easy way to show your support of the Family Pantry and our local gem of a newspaper.

Last, but certainly not least, the Pantry is turning 30 this year! It is a milestone we are pleased to achieve and we could not have done it without your help!! 30 years of sustaining the Cape, we could not be more honored!

Happy July 4th and enjoy summer on Cape Cod,

Christine 

PS: Don't forget to check out the second part of our series we call "Did You Know" 

The 8th Annual Summer Gala Rocked The Wychmere Beach Club

Join us next year on June 14th for another wonderful afternoon

It was a full house at the Wychmere Beach Club

What a pretty view

The World Premier Band

2019 Honorees - Christine Menard, Family Pantry ED; Tom and Shelly O'Neill, Gala Hosts; David and Gail Oppenheim and Shane Coughlin of the Chatham Wayside Inn; Thomas Croswell of Tufts Health Plan; Gail Tuner and Nancy Craemer of The Cape Cod Potters and Family Pantry Board President Terri Barron

Text to Donate Has Returned

A quick and easy way to support the Pantry

Text to donate is an incredibly easy way to donate directly to the Family Pantry through your smart phone.

On your smartphone:

• Text the word "Hunger" to 80100 to donate $20.00 or 80 meals to those in need

Or 

• Text the word "Pantry" to 80100 to donate $10.00 or 40 meals to those in need.

Your donation of $20.00 or $10.00 will appear on your phone bill - it is easy and so many will benefit from your generosity.

Summer Helping Neighbors Campaign

The Cape Cod Chronicle launched the third annual Summer Helping Neighbors Campaign on June 27th. The campaign is designed to give our summer and year round residents the opportunity to support the Pantry and the Cape they love. Many of the people you depend on (housekeepers, retail clerks, landscapers, Home Health Aides, hairdressers etc). depend on the Pantry to live here year-round and contribute to the Cape economy. Please consider donating to the summer campaign 

Three ways to donate:

1. Visit our website at thefamilypantry.com
2. Purchase The Chronicle and return the donation slip with your check
3. Text to Donate

The Family Pantry Video Collection

Sustaining the Cape for 30 Years

The Family Pantry had a humble beginning in 1989 in a small store front in West Harwich, and quickly found that the need across the Cape was huge. The Pantry founders named the "Family" Pantry deliberately. Then, just like today, our family includes our dedicated volunteers, our wonderful clients and of course the donors who make it possible to do what we do. The Pantry became a 501(c)(3) in 1991 and is now on track to serve 10,000 clients, distributing over 100,000 bags of groceries and 34 tons of gently used clothing annually.

The Pantry is a multi-faceted operation and includes a 9,000 sq foot garden, the Second Glance Thrift Boutique, a satellite pantry on the Cape Cod Community College campus, a vast holiday toy program, a Thanksgiving turkey dinner event, programs to improve client health, a Mobile Pantry and, of course, the best selection of perishable and non-perishable goods of any pantry on Cape or beyond.

Roughly 23,000 people on Cape struggle with hunger in some form or fashion. We are so grateful to be able to serve anyone who walks through our doors looking for help. The Pantry is the only pantry on the Cape that has no restrictions on who can access services. We can do all of this because of you.

We believe the founders would be proud of all that has been accomplished and of all the people we have had the privilege of serving. Maybe one day hunger will be eliminated on Cape Cod; but, just in case it is not, we plan to be here for anyone who needs us.

Did You Know ?

We have a Mobile Food Pantry! 

The Healthy Meals in Motion Mobile Pantry was launched in the towns of Brewster, Chatham, Eastham and Provincetown after a study, done by Feeding America, identified these communities as needing additional food resources.

Blue Cross Blue Shield provided an intellectual grant to build the Mobile Pantry business plan and proposed that the Family Pantry partner with the lower Cape Councils on Aging to most effectively reach vulnerable seniors in these four towns.

A group of Family Pantry volunteers and staff, along with Eva Orman from the Chatham Council on Aging, brought the Healthy Meals In Motion Mobile Food Pantry to life. Partnering with the Councils on Aging in Brewster, Chatham, Eastham and Provincetown has resulted in hundreds of lower Cape residents receiving healthy foods each month. In the months following the launch, the Mobile Pantry was expanded to include families from Chatham Monomoy Services, the Brewster Low Income Housing Development, The Cape Cod Children's Place, the Provincetown Elementary School and select women from "Helping Our Women" in Provincetown.

Clients receive hand picked orders of perishable and nonperishable foods each month. In addition to their grocery list, there is always a "surprise and delight" where something unexpected is included in the distribution. The surprise can be anything from donated Ben and Jerry's ice cream to fresh produce supplied directly from the Family Pantry vegetable garden.

The idea of a mobile pantry was a labor of love for the former Family Pantry Executive Director, Mary Anderson. She knew the Family Pantry could help some of the lower Cape towns by building a mobile pantry resource. The current staff and volunteers were pleased to launch Healthy Meals in Motion in September 2016.

The program to date has provided 23,392 bags of food, which is over 829,000 meals to 583 families across the lower Cape. Amazing!!

Program Manager Pat Brophy readies client totes to be loaded onto the refrigerated mobile food truck

Warehouse Manager Jim O'Bara inspecting Dennis' work!

Dave McGlone unloads client orders at the Chatham COA

Eva of the Chatham COA

Melissa & Rich wait for the Chatham COA clients to arrive

Eastham Mobile Surprise and Delight

Some of The Family Pantry Healthy Meals in Motion Volunteers 

Weedie works the perishables

The Wednesday Eastham COA crew can pack 34 orders in just an hour!

Smiling Jean packs orders

Dennis and Mary make the finishing touches

So Many to Thank..... Here are a few!

Our partnership with "Rorys" Organic Market has provided over 16,000 pounds of fresh produce for our clients. Thanks to Rory and her incredible generosity, we now distribute over 35% of all foods as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Thank you to all who supported the 8th Annual Summer Gala

Thank you to the Chatham Bars Inn Farm Manager, Josh Schiff for all of his help and support of the Family Pantry garden

Volunteer Openings 

There are immediate volunteer openings in the following areas. Please click the link below to submit your application to volunteer. Linda, the volunteer coordinator, will call you once she has received your application. She will set up a tour of the Pantry to discuss your interests. Volunteers must be 15 years or older and some positions require lifting. 

Second Glance Thrift Shop - Monday & Saturday 9:45 - 1:00 PM and 12:45 - 5:00 PM

Family Pantry Garden- MWF 9:00 - 11:30 AM no experience required 

Clothing Boutique - Tues and Thurs - 11:30 - 1:30 PM

Food Stocking - Tues and Thurs 1:00 - 3:30 PM, Thurs 4:45 - 7:00 PM and Sat 9:30 - Noon

Click to Volunteer at The Family Pantry of Cape Cod