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By ANDREW MARTIN
In these increasingly tough economic times, the St. Mary’s/St. James’ food pantry in Charlestown are becoming more important and relevant than ever.
The food pantry, which is located off Matunuck Schoolhouse Road, was booming as usual on Tuesday morning. Men and women from all over South County were carrying and sorting through boxes filled with everything from bread to toothbrushes to cranberry sauce. But these were not people looking to take the food for their own use. The 20 or so people on hand were just some of the more than 100 volunteers who spend time giving back to their community.
One volunteer – Charlestown resident Margaret Peese, who cites her age as over 55 years old – said she came to the pantry because she felt the need to help others who need assistance. As she combed through boxes of “personal” goods like shaving cream, she explained that this is the third year she has been going there.
“I know there is a great need in the community for volunteers,” Peese said, adding that there is also a great need from people who need help.
Sorting through the personal items by her side was 68-year-old Donna Woodworth, of Narragansett. She said she started coming to the pantry with her sister, Annie Beyette, 83, a few years ago. The sisters decided to make the trek to Charlestown because they had worked with the pantry’s director, Deborah Nigrelli. And when she started it up in 2001, Woodworth and Beyette followed.
Woodworth said she and her sister, who are both retired, began volunteering because they had extra time and they wanted to give back. “Also, it’s a social [event],” she said with a chuckle. “It’s a reason to get up every morning.”
Her sister, who also resides in Narragansett, agreed. “I came down to this particular spot because of the volunteers. They’re all just terrific,” Beyette exclaimed while stacking boxes of cereal. “And [I came here] for Debbie, too, who is magnificent.”
One man, who spent most of his morning sorting and carrying hundreds of loafs of bread, said volunteering comes down to the fact that there is a need and that someone has to do it. Dolph Santello, 70, who owns a home in New Haven, Conn., and in Charlestown, learned of the food pantry through the church and has been donating his time and effort for three years now.
Before coming to Charlestown, he volunteered at a soup kitchen in Connecticut for 20 years. He explained that there is a huge difference between the clientele he saw at the soup kitchen compared to those who go to St. Mary’s/St. James’. In Connecticut, he said, it was mostly people with substance abuse problems. But here, it’s families with jobs and children who are being hurt by the struggling economy.
Santello then related a story about a married couple in their twenties who had recently stopped in. He learned that they had a schedule in which one of them would eat dinner while the other didn’t and then they switched every other day. Santello said he gave the husband a loaf of bread, which the man held against his chest and exclaimed, “Honey, we’re having toast for dinner tonight!”
“That’s the kind of stuff you see everyday … and when you see something like that, it stops you cold,” Santello said.
The St. Mary’s/St. James’ food pantry was founded in 2001 by Nigrelli, who previously worked as a paralegal. Back when the pantry opened, she said it serviced 25 families. Now, it feeds more than 17,000 individuals.
“We used to think we were busy,” Nigrelli said. Much of the food comes from a Rhode Island Community Food Bank truck that makes 15,000-pound deliveries every Tuesday.
And to accommodate the additional bodies, Nigrelli said she is actively searching for a new space for the pantry. Ideally, she would like two acres of land and a 10,000 square-foot building. But for now, she will use the Carolina Fire Department’s building to host the monthly soup kitchen for November and December. Also, the pantry has been forced to use a trailer to store the donated clothes and furniture.
“People are very much in a crisis right now and that puts a lot of stress on a non-profit like us,” Nigrelli said.
Nigrelli also explained that Rhode Islanders need to realize that South County is not the affluent place it appears to be. She said there are a lot of homeless people in the area who are living in hotels or in their cars or staying at campgrounds. “We are nowhere near the 10 percent affordable housing rate,” she added.
“We need the leaders and politicians in southern Rhode Island to see that there is a real need [for help],” Nigrelli said. If you are interested in contacting the pantry, you can call its hotline at 364-9412 or write to PO Box 204, Charlestown, R.I. 02813.
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