Reading, MA — Neighbors, the Reading Food Pantry needs your help! During the pandemic, the need for our support was at an all-time high. Like other food pantries at the time, we believed that would be the high-water mark for the number of people relying on our pantry. However, the pandemic was just the beginning of the jump in need. With continued high food prices due to inflation, rising costs of rent and housing, cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and other factors, the number of neighbors served by our pantry has more than doubled since 2019, and just in the last 18 months the need has increased nearly 60%. We now serve more than 360 Reading residents each month, including 82 children and 95 seniors.
This increase in assistance has stretched our budget and caused food shortages and space challenges. Inflation has certainly hit the pantry, and the Greater Boston Food Bank, from which we purchase about 40% of our food, is also struggling to keep up with demand from pantries across eastern Massachusetts. They often experience shortages of staples like cooking oil, juice, and eggs. To keep our shelves stocked we have had to make hard choices, such as reducing the number of meat and cheese options available per visit. We anticipate that the level of need in our community will remain high and may continue to increase.
Please consider a one-time or monthly donation to help keep the pantry going! Visit our Facebook page or website (readingfoodpantry.org) to donate, or send a check made out to the Reading Food Pantry at 6 Salem St. A $25 donation supports a senior couple for 2 weeks, and a $100 donation supports a family of four for 1 month.
Please also continue to use the bins at Market Basket and Stop & Shop or our drop-off hours at the pantry on Wednesday afternoons (4:00 to 6:00 pm) to make food donations. And, if you or someone you know needs to visit the pantry, we are here to help, so please come see us! We are open Monday nights from 6:30 to 7:30 and Friday mornings from 10:30 to 11:30.
Despite the challenges, we have continued with our mission, which is to address the food and personal care needs of our neighbors through high-quality, respectful service in a welcoming environment, with the goal of enhancing well-being in our community. We strive to end hunger by removing barriers to food caused by race, gender, sexual orientation, mental and physical health, income, and age. Established in 1983, we provide food assistance to families who live in Reading, operating out of Old South United Methodist Church. While some neighbors visit occasionally or due to temporary circumstances, many rely on the pantry for a substantial portion of their food. We provide a variety of food, paper and household products, and personal care items (shampoo, soap, toothpaste/brushes), and we operate on a choice model rather than giving out a one-size-fits-all box of food; we distribute more than 1,200 bags of food per month. Our team of approximately 100 amazing and dedicated volunteers welcomes neighbors on Monday evenings and Friday mornings, and residents can visit twice a month. Neighbors not able to visit the pantry in person due to significant health challenges or physical disabilities receive delivery from volunteers twice monthly.
We can see our impact through the words of the neighbors we serve: “The food pantry is such a help in spreading my finances through the month”; “The Reading Food Pantry has been a godsend … The volunteers are always so kind and they refer to participants on a first-name basis. It feels like a community”; “The food pantry helps keep the food on the table for the boys and I”; “[The food pantry is] a helping hand until I can find employment.”
Reading, thank you for your support of the pantry!
Best wishes from the Reading Food Pantry Board (Anne Baynes, Chris Soria, Hal Torman, Joseph Young, Sean Tesoro, and Vanessa Alvarado) and Executive Director (Simone Payment)
