“They could be your next door neighbor, the person sitting in the pew next to you at church. They could be your child’s best friend’s parents or grandparents. You won’t know because they’re proud people they don’t want you to know,” Wendy Jolls the director of the Monroe Food Pantry said.
She said there are 270 families registered currently registered with the pantry and that it serves an estimated 700 Monroe residents. However not all of the registered clients come to the Food Pantry every month.
“It’s not that they don’t like being here, it’s that they want to be independent,” she said.
Patrons
Jolls said that two thirds of her clients are children and seniors. The remaining portion of her clients are working adults or disabled adults.
“Our families are working families, our families are people who have retired who have worked all their lives but social security does not give them enough to live on. Our families are not homeless. They are single parent families who are struggling. Our parents are disabled or they have a special needs child so they can’t work. I have clients who are cancer patients who are struggling to keep their heads above water,” Jolls said.
She said that she recognizes that residents in need might be hesitant to reach out for help so when an individual or family registers with the Food Pantry she likes to speak with them one on one.
“I tell them, you’re not alone. I have 270 families that are registered to shop here. I tell them not to feel special because you’re not the minority. More and more people shop here,” Jolls said. “And I tell them that you’re not the one that has let anybody down, we as a society have let you down by making it so that you have to come here.”
The Pantry
Monroe’s Food Pantry is a client choice pantry, which means pantry shoppers can choose which items they want instead of having items that can’t eat or don’t want pushed on them.
“Our shoppers are empowered to pick what they want,” Jolls said. “We don’t tell them what to eat, because it’s very degrading for me to tell someone what they’re going to eat.”
Patrons come in once a month to buy all their non perishables and the rest of the month they come in once a week and get fresh bread and produce. It is free for the registered families to come and pick-up their groceries, Jolls said that if patrons want to pay her or the volunteers they can pay with a hug.
Jolls said that this past summer the Food Pantry saw more clients than it had in previous years and that more residents will be visiting the pantry in the winter months when it’s colder and the heating and electric bills are higher.
Jolls said that the Food Pantry tries to cater to those who might have dietary issues by providing low sodium, low sugar and gluten free products.
Jolls said that the Pantry gives away 2,000 pounds of food a day and spend on average $6,000 worth of food a month. She said that local grocery stores send donations to the pantry.
In the summer the pantry gives away fresh produce provided by three gardens maintained by the Monroe Congregational Church and the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
“The Monroe community is probably one of the most generous community that I know of,” Jolls said.
Little extras
The Food Pantry also supplies baking supplies, fresh store cakes and candles to celebrate the birthdays of the younger children that frequent the pantry. Jolls said at they also try to provide something extra for their clients around the holidays, like providing cheese and crackers. Currently there is a fundraiser to buy fresh pies for Thanksgiving.
Jolls said students from Masuk’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) hold a pet food drive to collect needed pet-related items around Christmas.
“Pets are not forgotten,” she said.
The Food Pantry also offers some personal items like soap and cleaning supplies that can’t be purchased with food stamps, since food stamps only pay for food.
Donatable items include:
Monroe’s Food Pantry currently has 270 families that are in need of assistance. The Food Pantry is currently collecting the following items:
- Juice (apple, cranberry, low sugar)
- Solid white tuna in water
- Canned chicken
- Chicken broth (regular, low sodium, low fat)
- Tomatoes (crushed, diced, sauce, whole, regular and low sodium)
- Tomato paste
- Cooking oil (canola or safflower)
- Granola bars
- Mayonnaise (regular, low fat)
- Salad dressing
- Apple sauce
- Pineapple
- Ready to serve soups (Progresso, Healthy Choice)
- Canned vegetables (regular and low sodium)
- Pancake mix complete
- Syrup (regular and sugar free)
- Cereal (regular and low sugar)
- Pasta (whole wheat, any kind)
- Coffee and tea (ground, instant and decaf)
- Jelly or jam (regular or sugar free)
- Pasta Roni/Suddenly Salad
- Mustard
- Ketchup (regular or low sodium)
- Rice (brown or white)
- Chef Boyardee canned pasta
- Diapers size 3, 4 or 5
- Enfamil baby formula
- Baby food
- Toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Soap and shower gels
- Shampoo and conditioner
- Paper products
- Household cleaners
- Giftcards
Those interested in volunteering can contact Wendy Jolls at 203-452-2817 or [email protected].
Volunteers
“I have the best volunteers anyone can ask for,” Jolls said. “They treat our clients with dignity.”
She said that she and the pantry volunteers work really hard to bring in donations so patrons can feel comfortable and secure while shopping.
“We try to keep it stocked and organized and neat because i know that if it were me and there was no food on the shelves and it was dirty I would be scared, where am I going to get food if there isn’t anything?”
Jolls said the Food Pantry’s volunteers are crucial for the daily operations of the pantry and that she loves and appreciates their dedication.
For more information about the Monroe Food Pantry contact Wendy Jolls at 203-452-2817 or [email protected].
