Kimberly Blake, a local full-time mother and former mayoral candidate, wanted to open a small food pantry outside the Gardner home as a birthday wish, and the family helped make that wish come true.
The small food pantry, which Blake calls a “donation greenhouse,” is located at 25 Baker Street in Gardner and is open from sunrise to sunset every day. Non-perishable foods such as canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter and jugs of water, or hygiene products such as toothpaste kits and diapers can be donated to or taken from Blake’s small pantry.
When family and friends asked Blake what she wanted for her birthday, she responded that she already had everything she needed or wanted and that she should give back to the community. Inspired by other small food pantries in nearby towns, like Athol, Blake said all she needed was a structure and a donation to make her birthday wish come true.
“There really are no rules with this pantry. We’re not going to limit the number of times people have to use the pantry, and no questions will be asked,” she said. “I’m not interested in your financial background or what you’re going through. I’m just here to help.”
Blake said she has collected donations of non-perishable food, personal hygiene products, infant and adult diapers, water jugs and more, but the food pantry still needs more donations. She said if her donations aren’t enough, she plans to use her own money to keep the pantry stocked.
Anyone who would like to donate can contact Blake on his Facebook page and let him know when they can drop off their donations.
Food pantries feel pressured by rising food insecurity
Blake said she noticed an increase in food insecurity in the Greater Gardner area and wanted to help alleviate some of the pressure on large local food pantries and diaper pantries.
The number of residents struggling to make ends meet and sustain the costs of inflation has increased over the past year.
Ginny’s Helping Hand, an organization that supports low-income individuals and families, is a food pantry and thrift store located in Leominster that helps more than 3,000 North Central residents each month.
Brandon Robbins, executive director of the food pantry, said before the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry was helping more than 1,000 residents, but that number has tripled since then. He said people come from all over north-central Massachusetts, primarily in Gardner, Fitchburg and Leominster.
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Robbins said the nonprofit is accepting food and monetary donations from local grocery stores and the Worcester County Food Bank.
“We’re not having a hard time meeting demand, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to maintain stockpiles,” he said. “Food and other items are gone as quickly as we bring them in.”
How is this small pantry different from others?
Blake’s family bought her a greenhouse kit for her birthday. She built it herself and it is a food storage structure. She said she used the greenhouse because it’s like a closet with flap doors and you can’t tell who’s inside.
There are security cameras on her property, and the footage is transmitted to the food pantry, but she says no one but her has seen the footage.
“I’m on a busy street and it’s very disconcerting that so many people have to ask for help,” she said. “They can step into it and then close the back flap and no one can see who’s in there.”
