Montville — The town’s Social Services office is meeting increased need for food during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Kathleen Doherty-Peck, director of the town Senior and Social Services Department, the agency has jumped from assisting about 500 people with food weekly to closer to 750.

“We’re providing between four and five thousand meals on a weekly basis,” she said. “Our numbers have grown every week since we’ve been doing this. Not only are we having more families come in because they lost their job or unemployment hasn’t kicked in yet, whatever the reason, but we also have those seniors who are coming who don’t want to be in the grocery store.”

On top of the food bank, the agency is delivering between 250 and 300 meals a week to homebound seniors. They receive a food basket once a week and lunch Monday through Friday. This measure was not in place before the pandemic. Meals on Wheels also is continuing its work in the community, but the department is trying to plug holes since demand has increased.

From 1 to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays through Fridays, Social Services conducts an outdoor food bank at the Senior Center, 12 Maple Ave. On April 22, for instance, a line fluctuating from 25 to 35 cars snaked through the Senior Center parking lot and even spilled out onto Maple Avenue. One car uses the food bank at a time, and it took 45 minutes to an hour for people to get through the line.

Doherty-Peck noted that, as is the case across the country, she believes the town’s most vulnerable groups have been affected by the pandemic. She said the department has dealt with a lot of seniors, who are physically susceptible to the virus, as well as families with members who have been laid off while businesses are shuttered to help slow the spread of the disease.

When a food bank client reaches the front of the line, he or she is greeted by Doherty-Peck, who is standing behind a table full of food — eggs, fruit, vegetables, bread — from a safe distance. Each driver is allowed one of each item, loads up bags he or she has brought and then drives off when finished.

The process used to be different. Montville resident Lisa Latham, who has been using the food bank for about a year, said people were able to go in the Social Services building Monday through Friday, with longer hours than the two allotted for the outdoor food bank. Now, she said, she notices more people talking about the department’s efforts on Facebook, and she marvels at the hourlong wait to pick up groceries.

Latham, whose three sons have grown and flown the coop, lives with her husband, daughter and dog. She said she appreciates the work of the department.

“The food bank has helped us out a lot. I’m not working right now, since the virus came out, so any little bit helps, especially now,” Latham said. “About a year ago, I called Social Services to see what type of benefits they had for town residents. I sure called the right place.”

Years earlier, Latham said, she’d gone to the agency when her husband became sick and was laid off from work. She said the agency didn’t have as much food back then, but it had clothes and hygiene products.

Doherty-Peck is leading the agency through ongoing adjustments. Her department gets food from the United Way Food Bank every Wednesday, but she also pointed to local businesses as important partners in feeding the community.

She’s received donations worth thousands or hundreds of dollars from Charter Oak Credit Union, the Montville Rotary Club and individual residents dropping off money — the agency welcomes monetary donations, and there is a donation box in front of the Senior Center. People also can give food.

With this money, the agency is able to do a bit of shopping of its own — Doherty-Peck mentioned buying food, such as cereal or pasta, that “folks can stretch meals from.” She said, “The money goes out as fast as it comes in, but it’s allowing us to feed everybody.”

Uncasville Diner and other restaurants in town have supported the agency, as well. According to Doherty-Peck, the diner has made ham and pasta dinners to be delivered in the past, and it has committed to making prepared meals twice a week for homebound clients of the department.

Oakdale Pizza and Nino’s Pizzeria also have aided the agency: Oakdale delivered pizza recently to clients, and Nino’s, since the beginning of the pandemic, has been donating five gift certificates a day to hand out to people coming to the food bank. Each week 25 total gift certificates are distributed and are redeemable for a free cheese pizza and pasta with sauce.

“Being the person that hands that out, you have people coming up to the food bank, and many are in dire straits right now, they’re not sure what they’re gonna do, and they’re very grateful we’re able to give them food. Then I give them a gift certificate and they start crying, and I’m a sap, so I start crying,” Doherty-Peck said. “It’s nice to not only help but do something extra special. The last thing they’re thinking of is that they’ll be able to go to a restaurant right now.”

Town Councilor Billy Caron, liaison to the Senior Center and Social Services, said he wanted residents to know that they have options and about the ongoing mission of Social Services. 

“They have been working nonstop down there,” Caron said. “The ground troops are our Social Services. They represent the core values of the town. They’re out there five to seven days a week making sure people are fed.”

It’s personal for Caron, who said that when he was growing up, his family had the help of welfare, social services and other resources.

“You can’t operate a town without a department like this — it’s the heartbeat of your town,” Caron said.

s.spinella@theday.com