Volunteers at the Lexington Food Pantry served more than 600 people and 211 families Saturday, the third time the pantry served more than 200 families in the organization’s 35-year history.
The surge followed a temporary pause in the federal food assistance program in early November that increased demand beyond the typical holiday spike, according to Usha Thakrar, co-coordinator and food pantry board member. “We are seeing an increase in weekly volume,” she said. “People are anxious.”
The pantry, run out of the basement of the Church of our Redeemer in Lexington, has operated most Saturdays since 1990, serving Lexington residents and workers without income verification. Volunteers distributed extra food on Saturday because the food bank will be closed the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
While no turkeys were given out on Saturday, the pantry does try to give out more Thanksgiving themed items. Bags were often filled with pumpkins, cranberry sauce, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
Susan Perullo, who has been volunteering for more than 20 years, said demand remained high even after federal food benefits resumed. “SNAP benefits only go so far,” she said. “You can only buy certain things. You can’t buy toiletries, shampoo and paper goods … so people come here for that as well.”
The pantry receives donations from local businesses, including When Pigs Fly Breads, which donates about 24 loaves a week. The nonprofit also partners with Beantown Baby Diaper Bank, where families are able to receive donations in Lexington once a month, or in other locations across the Boston area.
Despite Lexington’s median household income of more than $200,000 and a stubborn perception that everyone in Lexington is wealthy, organizers said need persists in many subsets of the population.
Lexington resident James Adamson, a congregant at Temple Isaiah, was aware of the food pantry, but suggested that others in Lexington may not realize there’s a need for a food pantry in the community. “I would be surprised if you went to more affluent neighborhoods and asked people, ‘Do you go to the food pantry? Do you know one?’ I’d be surprised if they did,” Adamson said.
Aviram Cohen has been volunteering at the pantry for more than a decade. He said the connection with neighbors is what brings him back every year. “It’s an obligation to be part of the community, serve the community, give back,” he said. “We need to be able to hug people, and this is one of the ways to hug people. To give them the feeling that we care about them and we will support them whenever they are in need.”
The pantry accepts food, financial contributions and volunteer applications on its website.
This article is part of a partnership with the BU journalism department.