Three times a month, a group of Lions Club volunteers makes the trip to the Greater Boston Food Bank’s distribution center in New Bedford to bring back a little extra help for Foxboro residents who need to stretch their food budget.
For the past seven years, the volunteers have been making the run to bring a pickup truck full of non-perishable items to the Foxboro Food Pantry at 35 Neponset St.
“We’re a bunch of retired guys, so we have the time” says Dick Davis, one of the volunteers. “It’s very rewarding. Everybody is glad to help.”
With the holidays coming, the men’s efforts as well as those of about 25 other volunteers are appreciated even more says Paula Dailey, one of the coordinators of the non-profit pantry located in space donated by Schneider Electric.
In a middle-class community like Foxboro, many people find it hard to imagine some of their neighbors struggling to fill their grocery shelves. But they’re there, says Dailey.
“There are people in need in every community,” said Dailey, from senior citizens to families with small children and individuals who have recently lost their jobs.
Dailey says the food pantry serves about 200 families a year. Anywhere from 30 to 60 families regularly attend the food pantry’s distributions which are held weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 11 a.m. and on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Volunteers also deliver food to shut-ins once a month.
Any Foxboro resident who qualifies for some kind of assistance, from subsidized housing to food stamps or fuel aid, is welcome to obtain food items from the pantry, Dailey said. Volunteers only ask recipients for some kind of identification indicating that they live in Foxboro.
When emergency strikes, Dailey said, anyone can receive emergency food assistance no questions asked.
Dailey said the pantry receives lots of community support ranging from individual donations to food drives by local businesses, schools and churches.
The pantry is operated under the auspices of the Foxboro Discretionary Fund.
People can also deposit food donations in drop boxes located at Stop and Shop in Mansfield and Foxboro or at the Foxboro Senior Center.
A list of most-needed items is posted regularly on the food pantry’s web site, foxborofoodpantry.com.
More information is available by calling the pantry at 508-543-5335 or by emailing foxborofood@gmail.com.
