ELLINGTON — After about a year of planning, Grandma’s Free Food Pantry, which will be accessible to the public 24/7, opens Thursday on Arbor Way, thanks to donations made in memory of local resident Estelle Williamson, who died at the age of 90 in 2017.
First Selectwoman Lori Spielman said a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the food pantry will be held at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at its location at 31 Arbor Way. Afterwards, those who need donations and others who want to drop off non-perishable food and hygiene items may begin utilizing the food pantry.
Two of Williamson’s daughters who live in town — Dianne Trueb, who serves as the market master of the local farmers market, and Margaret Cavanagh — have worked in conjunction with the Department of Human Services to take $900 in donations and create a 24/7 accessible food pantry.
The food pantry will be about twice the size of the typically small wooden boxes used in the “Little Free Library” or book exchange initiative sweeping the nation that allows people to borrow, return, or donate books 24/7 at little libraries set up just about anywhere but most prevalently in neighborhoods.
“I think it’s wonderful that a family put it together and donated it for the town,” Spielman said. “Some people have a lot of pride and they’re embarrassed maybe to ask for help or whatever and this way here they can go anytime.”
The pantry is located near both the Human Services building and the Police Department.
Spielman said the pantry is safe from theft because of its proximity to the Police Department, which means there will be a security camera on it at all times.
The pantry is intended to allow those who have emergency needs for non-perishable food or hygiene items to access those goods even if the Ellington Food Bank is closed.
“If you’re stuck and you need some kind of food, you’re welcome to take anything you need and leave anything to donate,” Trueb said.
She said the pantry will have a bronze placard inscribed with her mother’s name that reads, “Give what you can, take what you need.”
Williamson has been described as a “crusader for the underprivileged.” During her life, she served as president of the Tolland County chapter of the American Red Cross, earned a degree in sociology, worked as a social services case manager in Enfield, served on the steering committee in Ellington to build the senior center, and made annual donations to the town’s Human Services Department.
The pantry will be managed by human services staff, who will make sure it doesn’t get overfilled and will remove expired products from its shelves.
Trueb said the pantry will also accept diapers, wet wipes, or household cleaning items as donations.
