Politics & Government

Montville Residents Get More than Food at the Food Bank

They get clothing, help searching for jobs and, most importantly, hope

Robin Washington has worked for Montville for eight years, and she is seeing another side of the town now.

Washington, who worked in accounts payable, in the Finance Department, has been running the food and clothing bank of the Social Services Department since February.

It’s a job she loves, and a job that is opening her eyes.

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“There’s a big difference going from one to the other,” she says. “I never realized how big the need was.”

 

Find out what's happening in Montvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

ONE OF THE MANY aspects of the job that has surprised her is just how many people in Montville use the food, clothing and hygiene items that are available at the little white house between the old town hall and the new one. She and Social Services Director Kathi Doherty-Peck say that about 125 families a week get food from the food bank. They estimate that they supply 1,500 meals a month.

There are clothes for men, women and children – clothes for living, clothes for work, clothes for job interviews.

There are hygiene items – soap and toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant.

While the state has guidelines on income for people seeking help, the town does not. All it asks is that you are a Montville resident. If you need help making ends meet, and you live in town, anything in the Food and Clothing Bank is available for you.

 

WASHINGTON IS ALSO working on helping unemployed and underemployed people find jobs.

She and Doherty-Peck are starting a job bank of sorts. They’re coordinating with CT Works – the state job bank – and are reaching out to local businesses, asking that they consider Montville residents first.

There are Montville residents with all sorts of skill levels, all sorts of expertise, who are looking for jobs – and Washington and Doherty-Peck are hoping that when an employer needs someone for a job, he or she will contact Social Services and see who is available.

Washington is also helping residents apply for work. She’s lending a hand building resumes, and is helping people apply on-line, as well. All of this can be very daunting for someone who has lost his income, and might or might not be familiar with on-line applications.

A very generous resident donated a laptop, Washington says, so people looking for jobs can come in to Social Services and do some of the on-line work themselves.

 

THE FOOD AND CLOTHING BANK runs entirely on donations and grants. And here, Washington says, there was another surprise for her.

The people of Montville are incredibly generous.

They bring food and clothing to the bank regularly. They drop off dog food and cat food and other pet supplies. Doherty-Peck says that sometimes, the pet stuff that families get from the food bank is all that’s between them keeping or giving up their pets.

“You can’t tell a pet, ‘Sorry, we’re out of food,’” she says. And keeping the pets in the home keeps them out of the Montville Animal Shelter.

People give money regularly. They collect food for the shelter.

And there are people who come in weekly and pick up the list of donations that are needed, and add the food bank’s shopping list to their own.

Just last week, a resident stopped in on his way to BJs and came back with a case of peanut butter.

There’s a woman who comes in twice a week and asks what’s needed, and drops it off on her way back from shopping.

 “We have our share of problems in Montville,” Washington says, “but there are so many generous people.”

 

WASHINGTON AND DOHERTY-PECK say that though hundreds of families use the food bank, many are embarrassed to come in.

“People have a hard time asking for help,” Doherty-Peck says. She says she has seem people drive around and drive around and drive around, and come in only when there are no cars parked in front of the building.

They say, “I never thought I’d be here, never thought I’d have to do this,” Doherty-Peck says.

But the truth is, Washington and Doherty-Peck say, that many of us are just one paycheck, just one medical situation, just one accident away from using the food bank. And there’s no shame in it.

When people come in to the food bank, Washington says, they are coming for food and for clothing.

But they get more.

“I try to give them hope.”

 

Right now, the food bank needs:

  • Peanut butter
  • Jelly
  • Tuna
  • Cereal
  • Rice
  • Pasta (boxed)
  • Canned fruit
  • Tomato sauce
  • Canned meats
  • Pasta meals
  • Crackers
  • Beans
  • Juice
  • Macaroni & cheese
  • Condiments (ketchup, relish, etc)
  • Napkins
  • Women’s hygiene products
  • Soap
  • Shampoo
  • Toilet tissue
  • Laundry detergent
  • Deodorant
  • Tissue
  • Dish soap
  • Toothbrushes
  • Toothpaste


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