An Emergency At The Emergency Food Pantry

By Nancy K. Crevier

“Old Mother Hubbard, Went to the cupboard to get her poor doggie a bone. But when she got there, The cupboard was bare, And so the poor doggie had none.” — Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme

It may be sad, indeed, if poor doggie has none, but it is a much sadder case when it is a friend or neighbor who goes without. “Right now, the cupboards are depleted,” said Ann Piccini, director of Social Services in Newtown and coordinator of the Salvation Army Food Pantry located in Town Hall South at 3 Main Street. “The Postal Food Drive held each spring usually brings in a lot, enough to get us through a good part of the year, but the drive this past May didn’t bring in as many donations,” said Ms Piccini. Coupled with an increase in use since the beginning of the year, the town emergency food pantry is starting to show the stress of not enough donations.

The food pantry does receive some food from the state three times a year, and the food bank in Waterbury assists in stocking the shelves twice a year, said Ms Piccini, but generally the town food pantry relies on the generosity of local residents in order to keep enough supplies on hand to help those in need.

The Salvation Army Food Pantry is open to anyone who can prove residency in Newtown or Sandy Hook, and is not tied to any income level, said Ms Piccini. “If it is needed, I usually tell people that they can visit once a week, but with the pantry so low I have been asking people to come every other week, if they can,” she said. The pantry is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 2 to 4:30 pm, and on an as needed, emergency basis.

The town food pantry accepts donations of any nonperishable food item, dry goods, toiletries, and pet food. Big Y coins are also welcome. The town pantry was the recipient of the Big Y coins for several years, collected by the Wilder family in a “bird house” that they built and placed in the Big Y near the check outs, said Ms Piccini, but the little coin collector was recently removed on orders from the store’s corporate headquarters.

Presently, there is a fairly good supply of pasta and chick peas, but all other food items are needed, said Ms Piccini. Donations can be brought to the Social Services office located beneath the Newtown Police Department, 3 Main Street, Monday through Friday. For more information, call 270-4330.