By ANDREW MARTIN

The economic crisis faced by our country is one that continues to hit home.

Although there has been a small beacon of hope – the lowered gas prices – the cost of food and other necessities remains high. And many experts cite those slashed gas prices as a sign of a struggling economy.

So it would only make sense that a non-profit like St. Mary’s/ St. James’ Food Pantry in Charlestown is in the midst of trying to assist more people than ever. 

On a recent Wednesday night, the pantry’s executive director and founder, Deborah Nigrelli, said the pantry broke one of its own records. “We had 64 families or individuals come through,” she explained. 

That number is one that has steadily mushroomed, especially over the past year. When Nigrelli founded the pantry in 2001, it serviced 25 families. Now, it feeds more than 17,000 individuals.

“It’s really an emergency,” Nigrelli said. 

And that emergency is most vivid to those people who now regularly visit the pantry to receive assistance.

A member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, who wished to remain nameless, said he is currently out of work on disability. “So I’m struggling both with that and paying my bills,” he added. On top of that, he said he has been living in a trailer in the woods.

“And I’ve received nothing from the tribe. They’re not trying to help me,” he explained with a look of disappointment. But at the food pantry, where he has been going since last year, he said he has received plenty of help with food and clothing. 

Another local man, also wishing to remain anonymous, is a husband and a father of two. Also, he has owned a business for the past four years, which he said can put a strain on paying the bills and buying food. The insurance on the company van, he said, is so expensive that sometimes he cannot afford to make the payment sometimes. The recent cuts in gas prices have been especially helpful, he said, but “it’s still really hard.”

He said he had to ask himself whether he would pay for the insurance or feed his children. And he knew the answer was clear that he had to provide his family with food. “My kids have to eat,” he said. And to help do that, he has been going to the pantry for around a year now.

“People come here for no reason other than that they’re hungry,” he said. “And not a lot of people know what that’s like.” He continued to say that he has passed on the word of the pantry to some of his neighbors, who he described as living in a middle-class neighborhood.

For this man, the most difficult part of it all is telling his children that they cannot have everything they want. Like, for example, a trip to a fast-food restaurant for a quick meal. “I can’t bring my kids to McDonalds. I have to tell them, you know, we can’t afford that,” he said.

A 40-year-old Charlestown woman, who is married and has three children, said she first went to the pantry six months ago when she didn’t have money to pay for food for nearly a week. She had recently lost her job as a bus driver and, as a result, her family was living solely off her husband’s paycheck.

Now, she goes to the pantry weekly, because she “can’t afford anything else.” “Everything is tight,” she said. “With rent and everything, it’s really hard,” she said. She went on to say that paying for gifts for Christmas and birthdays has become nearly impossible.

Her friend, a 47-year-old Exeter woman and mother of one, began going to St. Mary’s/St. James’ because all of her money was going toward paying bills. In particular, she has faced growing medical bills to cover her lupus medication.

As a part-time bus driver, she said she can only stretch her money so far. She continued to say that it is not like she just cannot take her medication. Because if she doesn’t, she said her joints swell up and restrict her movement.

Another woman, Charlestown resident Kelley DeCubellis, 64, faces a similar struggle. She is both diabetic and fighting cancer, which results in her having to take 25 pills a day. Although she has United Health Care, she still has to pay over $100 monthly to cover her medication, no meager bill for someone on a limited income.

Being diabetic, there are numerous restrictions on DeCubellis’ diet, which does not make going to the grocery store a cheap task. 

“So I spend a little money buying certain foods at the store because it gets so expensive,” she explained. For example, she has gone from fresh to frozen or canned vegetables.

Without St. Mary’s/St. James’, DeCubellis said she wouldn’t be able to make it. Not only does she receive food from there, but she gets gift cards for gasoline as well so she can drive to her doctor’s and Stop & Shop to get her medicine. She also attends the dinners, which she said are just wonderful. Not only does she get a nice meal, but she spends time socializing and meeting people.

There are other food pantries that DeCubellis has visited in the past, but now she said she refrains from doing so because she feels that there are other families that need it more than she does. 

For DeCubellis, she never expected that she would need this kind of assistance after she worked for the state for 20 years in social services. “It’s traumatic … I’m caught in a bind,” she said. “It’s a miracle from God that the churches are able to [help].” 

And DeCubellis had nothing but glowing words to say about Nigrelli. “Dedication is the best word to describe Debbie,” she said. “I don’t know what the towns would do without the food pantry.”

St. Mary’s/St. James' is still seeking anyone looking to adopt a family or make toy and food donations for the upcoming holidays. 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.