November 2020

The Barre Foood Pantry has had a busy year dealing with COVID-19, the concurrent economic uncertainty, and the change to a drive-through model to ensure volunteer and client safety. We are most fortunate that our clients have continued to enjoy an uninterrupted wide variety of fresh and shelf-stable foods, and the Pantry is proud to be able to maintain a high level of service and safety. The Pantry extends a heartfelt thank you to all of its volunteers and to the supporters who make the important work that we do possible.

The Food Pantry is now an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity, but we will continue to operate at the Barre Congregational Church. The Pantry feels that this new level of independence will bring greater stability to the organization and will confer a long-term commitment to serving the needy in our area. The Pantry is grateful to the Barre Congregational Church for their support and for providing a home to the Pantry back in 2011 when the Christ Episcopal Church in South Barre closed. The Pantry started as the Barre Food Bank at the Christ Episcopal Church over more than 30 years ago.

The Pantry is serving nearly 100 families per month with twice monthly distributions and we are expecting that the drive-through pickup will continue into 2021.

Donations of food are always welcome, though our drop boxes at the Woods Memorial Library and the Barre Senior Center are unavailable to the public, therefore arrangements must be made with us to coordinate a drop off at the church.

Tax deductible monetary donations can be made to The Barre Food Pantry, P.O. Box 265, Barre, MA 01005-0265. We use those donations in purchasing fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products from local producers.

The Barre Food Pantry is one of 129 cooperating partner agencies of the Worcester County Food Bank, with the express mission to reduce food insecurity in Worcester County.

The Barre Food Pantry wishes to thank the community for its generosity and longstanding commitment to helping the needy.

The BCC Food Pantry saw another very busy year in 2017, with a 5% increase in the number total people served over 2016, along with a notable 32% increase in the number of new people seen at the Pantry. It appears that our region is gaining new faces! Children aged 5-17 and adults aged 18-64 were the majority of whom we serve. Use of the Pantry by our elderly decreased in 2017, the first-ever significant downward trend we’ve seen since we started keeping electronic records in 2007! Are there fewer older needy citizens in our area? Or, are they unable to avail themselves to the Pantry?

We made 12 monthly trips to the Worcester County Food Bank (WCFB) in Shrewsbury, bringing back nearly 34,000 lbs. of food allotted to us from the USDA, the Massachusetts Emergency Feeding Assistance Program (MEFAP), and food items donated to the WCFB by grocery retailers and distributors. Several large food drives held by the Quabbin Regional Schools, Barre VFW, Barre Family Health Center and countless individuals dropping off donations at the area’s Churches, the Woods Memorial Library, the Barre Senior Center and a new collection box at the South Barre Rod and Gun Club filled our shelves to nearly bursting! Several community benefits were held for the Pantry as well.