Q&A with Carolyn Wortman, Director, Lexington Food Pantry
LexObserver: What is the Lexington Food Pantry and who do you serve?
CW: The Lexington Food Pantry is a 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to provide supplemental food to residents of Lexington experiencing food insecurity. The pantry is a completely volunteer-run organization, overseen by a Board of Directors.
We serve mostly Lexington residents. Over 95% of the families who receive assistance from the Lexington Food Pantry are from Lexington. However, we do welcome people from other towns to our food pantry – some of whom we gained during the pandemic when other food pantries just plain closed (we stayed open). We serve our non-Lexington-based constituents on a case-by-case basis.
LexObserver: How many people does the Lexington Food Pantry serve?
In 2023, 132 new families received supplemental food from the pantry, in addition to those we already served. Not all families come at the same time, though. On average, we helped 102 families per week (which represents 328 people) in 2023.
LexObserver: Why was the food pantry established?
CW: At some point prior to November 1990, the then-Lexington Council of Churches thought there might be a need for a food pantry in Lexington. They formed a study group to explore the possible need and – if it was found that there was one – to subsequently figure out how to address it. Probably obviously, they did confirm the need in town, because in late November 1990, the Lexington Food Pantry opened in a small room on the lower level of the Church of Our Redeemer on Meriam Street. We are still housed in the Church of Our Redeemer, but have grown to considerable size over the past thirty-four years.
LexObserver: What kinds of donations does the food pantry receive and where do they come from?
CW: We are supported by both monetary and food donations from the residents, faith organizations such as churches and temples, and businesses of Lexington.
LexObserver: What is your role with Lexington Food Pantry?
CW: I am the Coordinator/Director of the food pantry, having taken over in 2002 from my mother. I have been with the pantry since two weeks after it opened in 1990. At that time, I worked full time as a pediatric nurse, so I originally volunteered only the weekends. Every Saturday, I helped distribute food to those who came to the pantry for assistance. When I started going away on weekends in the summer, my mother took over my Saturday spot for those couple of months.
She started her volunteer work with the pantry through that weekly food distribution, and before I knew it, she was running the pantry! There was a rumor in town that my mother started the pantry, but that is not true. It was the Lexington Council of Churches.
I continued to volunteer on weekends outside the summer months, and as time went on and I retired from my work, I came back to the food pantry because I wanted to be helpful to people and I found that this was one more way I could do that.
It means a lot to me that both my mother and I were recipients of the Minuteman Cane Award – my mother in 1996 and myself 25 years later, in 2021 – for our involvement with the Lexington Food Pantry.
LexObserver: How can local residents help?
CW: The thing we need most from the community is money. Food donations are helpful, but when our families need a hearty soup, receiving a jar of pickles instead isn’t going to be enough. Don’t get me wrong – we greatly appreciate food donations as well, in the categories that we specify on our website – but funds are more useful toward being able to purchase the appropriate foods to ensure we can meet the sustenance needs of our families. There is a PayPal link on our website that can be used to make a donation. We also accept and welcome checks mailed to P.O. Box 635, Lexington 02420.
To learn more about Lexington Food Pantry, visit https://www.lexingtonfoodpantry.org