Westford Food Pantry president called top shelf - Lowell Sun

Ken Hyle, president of the Westford Food Pantry, in the pantry stock room at the Cameron Senior Center. SUN/Jon Winkler

This article is the latest in The Sun's "Be a Volunteer" series, focusing on people who join community nonprofits. Got a suggestion for a profile, email it to cscott@lowellsun.com

WESTFORD -- Ken Hyle doesn't want to talk about himself. But that's fine considering not one minute into a conversation with him, someone else is readily available to chat about his charitable nature to the Westford Food Pantry.

"He's been really instrumental," Jennifer Claro, director of the Cameron Senior Center, said on Wednesday. "When I came on, there was no oversight of the pantry. So I pulled together a committee and Ken was one of the first ones in it. You sense with Ken and his demeanor that he's extremely professional, he's a good listener and I knew he would be a good leader. He was so humble and willing to help. When you find those type of individuals, it's someone that's really worthwhile."

"We had a vote and I was elected seven to one. I voted no," Hyle joked.

The 78-year-old has been the president of the pantry for the last four years, ensuring the nonprofit organization has plenty of canned, dry and refrigerated goods to be distributed to the less fortunate families in the community. He's been volunteering for the pantry since 2012, when he moved to Westford full time after living in Hawthorne, New Jersey, for 70 years.

Hyle's charitable spirit has also gone across state lines, as he said he did volunteer work for a local food pantry and did income taxes for seniors through the AARP IRS Tax Aid program while in Hawthorne. The latter effort came naturally to him as he spent his career as an auditor for Chase Bank in New York. He recalls reading about the Westford Food Pantry in a local newspaper looking for volunteers.

"You recognize that there is a need," Hyle said.

Ken Hyle, president of the Westford Food Pantry, points out some of the stock at the pantry inside the Cameron Senior Center. SUN/Jon Winkler

"A lot of people don't really recognize it because the town of Westford is a very affluent community and people don't realize that there are a lot of other who still have this need."

Hyle said the pantry in 2012 only offered dry and canned food with no refrigerator for dairy or frozen products. Hyle said that the pantry currently serves an average of over 200 families per month and gives out over 350 bags of food in that same time frame. Because of this, Hyle increased his volunteer hours from about four per week to about 12 per week. His work at the pantry, operating out of the meeting room in the Cameron Senior Center, includes keeping track of the food in the pantry's stock room, organizing the pantry's paperwork, picking up food purchased with monetary donations and food donations from the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, police departments, schools and other civic groups.

"I love coming here," he said. "It makes you feel good when you know you can help people that are in need. It's satisfying to see someone leave with food and a smile."

Hyle and the pantry's extensive outreach for donations allowed them to not only have different foods from no-salt vegetables and baking products, but offer personal care items, including toilet paper, diapers and hair products. Hyle said that the idea came from a collaboration with the Saint Catherine of Alexandria conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, who have frequently worked with the pantry since 2014. Hyle himself is a member of St. Vincent de Paul.

"Every year on Christmas and Thanksgiving, the Senior Center, St. Vincent de Paul and the food pantry combine our resources," he said. "Last year, we gave out four bags of groceries and personal care items each to 170 families for Thanksgiving. On Christmas, we included toys in the bags of families who need them. My personal feeling is that there should be no child without a toy. That's the highlight of the year for me."

Hyle said that he hopes the pantry can afford its own van strictly for transporting food and a larger location to accommodate room for more food like fresh vegetables to locals. The pantry is also collaborating with Up With Books Inc., a non-profit organization out of Groton providing books for underprivileged children of all ages. The pantry will help distribute those books to kids this summer.

"I'm very, very proud of what gets done in this community," Hyle said with a grin.