Shortly after the federal government shut down on Oct. 1, Loaves & Fishes Executive Director Patricia Stern received a phone call from the Federal Medical Center at Devens. The caller asked if federal employees there, who were working without pay, could come to the food pantry for assistance as they had during the shutdown in December 2018. Stern and the Loaves & Fishes board responded, “Absolutely, yes.”
The pantry—which usually serves Harvard, Ayer, Devens, Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, and Shirley—set aside its residence requirements and opened its doors to federal employees across the area. Loaves & Fishes fed 52 families of unpaid federal workers during the last week of October, Stern said. Many came from Devens, but others were from Hanscom Air Force Base or Minuteman National Park.
“We’ve seen men sitting in cars crying,” Stern said. “We’ve seen officers in their uniforms, with their holsters and their guns, and they’re breaking down because they don’t know how to feed their families.”
About 40 households in Harvard currently rely on Loaves & Fishes for food support, according to Stern. “So for the Harvard residents who say there is no food insecurity in Harvard,” she said, “I have news for you.”
Last week, a record-setting 124 families came seeking food assistance in a single day. The usual daily number had been 60 to 70 families. Many people cited the rising cost of living, especially increasing food prices, as the factor that brought them to Loaves & Fishes. For others, Stern said, it was a life event that forced them to seek assistance—the loss of a job, a divorce, a major illness.
Even before the federal shutdown, Loaves & Fishes was experiencing a steady increase in the number of families needing food assistance—up 67% in the past two fiscal years. At the close of its fiscal year June 30, the pantry was supplying food for 1,046 households, having gone through 1.2 million pounds of food in the year.
Now, the pantry’s staff and volunteers are bracing for another upsurge, with the reduction or possible termination of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) funds. “It’s going to impact our operation incredibly,” Stern said of the SNAP cuts.
The main source of food is Loaves & Fishes’ weekly purchase from the Boston Food Bank, where the pantry gets around 60% of its food—about 10,000 pounds of food each Friday. But in addition, Stern said, “Just about every grocery store in the area donates to us. … During the growing season, we have relationships with many, many gardens, farms, and orchards that bring us fresh produce.” She noted that Harvard food growers are among the donors.
More than peanut butter and jelly
“Peanut butter and jelly are what people envision a [food] pantry will give out,” Stern said. “But we are so much more than that.” The shelves at Loaves & Fishes are stocked with a wide variety of foods, from fresh produce and meats to canned goods, cereals, frozen foods, eggs, and dairy products. There are also expensive products such as Ensure and Glucerna, which are often important dietary supplements for older people or diabetics. And people with specific dietary needs, such as gluten-free foods, can also find those products at Loaves & Fishes.
Asked about the best way to support Loaves & Fishes, Stern said donations of money and donations of groceries were equally appreciated. Financial donations help the pantry to buy food in bulk. But donated foods often provide a variety of choices that can make clients very happy.
Stern told of an elderly woman who was delighted to get a box of brand-name cereal. “She grabbed the box and hugged it. She was almost in tears and said ‘I can have this?’” The woman was used to buying a generic brand to save money, and to get the breakfast cereal she really liked was a rare treat.
Stern, who has been at Loaves & Fishes since 2008, said the organization had never had a budget deficit until last year, when there was a small one. “This year, we are operating with an anticipated deficit budget,” she said. “The board knew … well over a year ago that we needed to up our fundraising and our outreach efforts. So, in fact, that is what we are doing, in preparation for all of the uncertainty that surrounds our world right now.”
Information about making a donation is available at loavesfishespantry.org.
