Inside the Killingly and Brooklyn town halls sit large white and green barrels filled with canned foods, packages of oatmeal and other shelf-stable food products, part of a friendly contest between town officials to see which municipality can collect the most non-perishable food for a local food pantry.
The “Can the Man” contest, which began Sept. 1, was the brainchild of the Killingly-Brooklyn Rotary Club as a way to assist the Friends of Assisi Food Pantry in Danielson, Brooklyn First Selectman Rick Ives said.
“We’ve really been loading up lately, with residents and Town Hall employees bringing in food,” he said.
On Wednesday, Killingly’s barrel, located inside Town Manager Sean Hendrick’s office, looked a bit fuller than its Brooklyn counterpart.
“But I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to get us over the top,” Ives said. “But really, the big winner is the food pantry, though that’s not going to stop me from calling and talking smack to (Hendricks).”
The contest, which will also include a food drive at several locations this weekend in Brooklyn and Killingly, comes at the perfect time for the food pantry, Director Jean Cyr said.
“This is a slow time of year for us for donations,” she said. “It’s the end of summer and before the holidays, so our food supplies are very low.”
The Water Street food pantry, founded in 1991, serves more than 200 families each month in the Killingly-Brooklyn area.
Hendricks said donation drives like the “Can the Man” contest provide much needed supplies to the pantry without forcing it to dip into its own funds.
“They can concentrate on buying perishables, like milk and fresh produce and not so much on canned goods,” he said. “Most of the donations we’ve gotten here in Killingly are coming straight from residents, with some coming in every week to drop something off.”
The town competition ends Friday and Hendricks said he’s gotten word Ives plans a last-minute push to take the lead in donations.
“I heard he’s looking to enlist the Brooklyn PTO to have students bring in donations,” Hendricks said. “But if I lose, I’m happy to lose since it means the pantry wins.”
