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THE PANTRY SHELF
The
agency is most definitely seeing and experiencing the effects of our struggling economy. Each
weekday morning men, women and children stand in line waiting for the Pantry Shelf to open;
more
than 40 households are served each day. We try to provide 3-5 days of food for each household and
clients may come for food once each month. As food prices continue to rise, more and more families
and individuals are forced to come for food. Their weekly income is not enough to cover the cost of
rent and utilities let alone food.
The Pantry Shelf is staffed by a full time Manager of Material Assistance and thirty-five volunteers.
The program distributes more than $400,000 worth of groceries annually. We served more than
15,000 duplicated individuals in 2008. Much of the food is donated by caring individuals, faith
communities, businesses and organizations; however, more and more food must be obtained from the
Greater Boston Food Bank and purchased by the agency directly from grocery stores. We are
fortunate to be able to obtain food at low to no cost from the food bank. We receive meat products
and bread daily from local grocery stores.
Our clients are South Shore residents who because of financial hardship need assistance with food.
Many are on fixed incomes due to age or disability, while others are unemployed or Transitional
Assistance recipients. Some come on a one time emergency basis, others on a more regular basis.
They reside in one of the ten South Shore communities served by the Pantry Shelf: Braintree,
Cohasset, Hingham, Holbrook, Hull, Milton, Quincy, Randolph, Scituate and Weymouth.
Volunteers dedicated to helping others staff the Pantry Shelf. There are many ways you can get
involved such as initiating or sponsoring a food drive, volunteering on a regular basis or for special food
drives or simply by placing a “Bring a Can” basket in your home, office or regular meeting place.
Become our partner as we work to help feed our neighbors on the South Shore!
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Days
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Hours
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Mon - Fri (walk-in basis)
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10:00am - 11:45am
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The Pantry Shelf has Tuesday evening and Saturday morning hours by appointment:
Every 3rd Tuesday 5:00pm -7:0pm and 3rd Saturday morning at 10am
Please call Bettyanne at 617-773-6203 ext. 19 to schedule an appointment.
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