Tony Phillips, director of Social Services, opens the food pantry in town hall. —Steve Coulter photo
Adults, keep an eye on the kids — they’re making a massive difference in town.
Summer camps, school groups and individual donations have been fueling the food pantry at Town Hall this summer, ensuring that those in need have enough to eat during the vacation-filled summer months.
“Sometimes food pantry shelves can be thin during the summer months with everyone away on vacation,” said Tony Phillips, director of social services. “That hasn’t been the case this summer — we’ve seen a consistent effort and have seen a ton of donations from kids, which has been incredible.”
Mr. Phillips said a seven-year-old boy recently came to the Department of Social Services with three bags of groceries he had received from his friends at his birthday party.
“He asked for groceries instead of gifts — what seven-year-old thinks like that?” Mr. Phillips said. “It was so awesome to see the difference even a seven-year-old can make.”
The individual efforts have been noteworthy indeed, but the group-based collections have been equally as effective in raising the supply level.
Camps at both St. Mary’s Church and Ridgefield Baptist Church have made significant donations this summer as well as a group of high school students that organizes food drives every month via social media.
“Students are active on Facebook and Twitter, collecting massive amounts of groceries for the pantry,” Mr. Phillips said.
A true sign of the youth’s impact, their donations have caused the food pantry’s three steel cupboards to overflow.
“A few weeks ago we had three huge drop offs, all on the same time, and we couldn’t get everything in the cupboards here in Town Hall,” he said.
He added that the Rec Center houses a storage area for when goods overflow and that social services goes there once a week to replenish the stock at Town Hall.
“The Rec Center is a big drop off area in town and that storage space really helps us keep things organized,” Mr. Phillips said.
Despite the overflow, there is a constant need for goods, including cereal, canned meats, protein-based soups, and granola bars — just to name a few.
“As quickly as food comes in, it goes out just as fast,” he said.
He said there isn’t a method for counting how much the pantry collects and distributes. However, he wants to set up an accounting process so he can report to the townspeople about their contributions.
“I don’t know if that answer will come in pounds, bags or the number of people served, but that number is out there somewhere and we want to figure it out,” he said. “The community is making a massive difference, they’re so very generous, and we want to thank them for their endless help and effort.”
Mr. Phillips estimates that at least five to six families come in daily to collect from the pantry.
They are limited to take two bags of goods and can only access the pantry once a week.
He doesn’t have the total number of people being served, but said that 120 people were served by the Connecticut Food Bank’s mobile food pantry in July.
“The truck is for Ridgefield residents and it gives them free, locally grown produce so they can have fresh fruits and vegetables,” Mr. Phillips explained. “It also gives out a protein item like turkey burgers or fish sticks.”
The mobile food pantry returns to town tomorrow from 11 to noon and will be in a parking on Halpin Lane, near the Nolan brothers property.
Some additional items that the food pantry at Town Hall always welcomes include oatmeal, tomato sauce, baking mixes, rice, and canned fruits.
Toiletries — shampoo, conditioner, soap and toothpaste — are currently in low supply.
“We always have a need for toiletries, personal care products and cleaning supplies such as laundry and dish detergent — I can’t stress that enough,” Mr. Phillips said.
The food pantry is in the Department of Social Services’ lunch room on the second floor of Town Hall.
It is open Monday through Friday during the same hours as Town Hall, but closes from 11:30 to 2:30 during the day. Mr. Phillips says people are welcome to come in and drop off groceries when the lunch room is open or drop them off at the Rec Center during its business hours.