Norwich monthly food pantry has evolved into community gathering
Norwich — New school Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow has been spending the summer meeting with key city leaders and groups, and she has discovered one way to greet more than 100 families and volunteers from several city agencies: by volunteering at the monthly food pantry at Wequonnoc School in Taftville.
The food pantry — more like a one-hour grocery store, with dry goods, fresh produce, bread, meat and dairy products — is held from 5 to 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month year-round at Wequonnoc School, 155 Providence St., Norwich. The food pantry is open to anyone, not just Norwich residents.
The effort has been growing since it started in February 2014, said co-coordinator Cynthia Beauregard, Family Resource Center site manager at Norwich schools, and now is a partnership between Norwich Public Schools, Norwich Public Utilities, United Community and Family Services and United Way. Beauregard, Pam Kinder at UCFS and Michele Addabbo at NPU coordinate the food pantry each month.
The partner agencies provide volunteers, about five each, to work the food pantry, and the Gemma E. Moran United Way/Labor Food Bank sends a refrigerator truck with cold goods for recipients. United Way staffers Sharon Peccini and Sarah McDermott help coordinate the food pantry, obtaining produce from Cohan Farm, Provider Farm and local grocery stores. The meat comes from Stop & Shop, Wal-Mart and Target stores.
Dry goods are set up on tables in the Wequonnoc School playground area, and the truck arrives about 4:30 each month. In winter, the food pantry moves into the gym. Families show IDs and register, Beauregard said, but there are no questions asked about income or situations, except for the number of adults and children in the household.
Families shop for the dry goods, while volunteer staff retrieve milk, cheese, eggs and meat from the refrigerated truck for families. Many families bring reusable bags, or volunteers provide boxes or bags with information about agency services and upcoming events.
Stringfellow volunteered at the July food pantry and plans to make it a monthly endeavor as her schedule allows. On Thursday, she will be presented with a United Way T-shirt as the volunteers get organized before the food pantry opens.
She was impressed by the community atmosphere at the July event, and how the volunteers knew the families who came. She recalled one exchange when a volunteer asked how a patron was feeling, remembering that the person wasn’t feeling well at the previous pantry and offered certain vegetables that might help.
“It’s just very enjoyable for me,” Stringfellow said. “I’m so glad to see so many community members participate. Lots of kids come. Lots of older folks come. It’s just such a loving community. It doesn’t happen in all communities.”
Beauregard said the pantry serves 130 to 150 families each month, with patrons coming from Norwich, surrounding towns and even the Groton-New London area.
“What I like the best is that I’ve met a lot of really cool people in the community,” Beauregard said. “The community comes together. It’s just amazing.”
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