Community Circle providing during COVID-19
At Community Circle Food Pantry in Washington, the volunteers are focused on one thing: feeding people.
Since February, the food pantry – the largest of the Greater Washington County Food Bank’s 49 pantries – has increased the number of food-insecure individuals it has served by more than 200.
“Right now we had 959 individuals in the month of April, which is more than 200 people more than we normally have, and we’ll probably get more next month,” said Melanie Wolfe, director of Community Circle Food Pantry.
While many Americans are stocking up on weeks of food and provisions, others who have lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic and are struggling financially are turning to food banks and food pantries to get food.
When the pandemic started, Community Circle’s biggest challenge was making sure it remained open because most of the pantry’s seven volunteers were among the most vulnerable individuals – the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.
But those volunteers and others have stepped forward to continue the pantry’s work of providing local residents with groceries.
Now, the biggest challenge, Wolfe said, is providing meat.
“We’re having a hard time getting meat,” said Wolfe. “I’ve had volunteers here at the pantry go out and buy ground beef and other meats with their own money.”
Wolfe said the local community has pitched in with donations of food and supplies, including masks, gloves, and disinfectant, to protect the pantry volunteers.
Even food pantry clients have donated masks and cleaning products, she noted.
The pantry, which Wolfe said serves as an emergency pantry for the GWCFB, has long had a relationship with local churches, whose parishioners have donated to it, but with church closings, those donations have shrunk.
The food pantry is open three days a week, Tuesday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to noon.
“I keep saying we are a community, and we are,” said Wolfe. “The little guys have helped keep us going.”
For Wolfe, keeping the Community Circle Food Pantry open and operating is a personal mission. In the 1990s, she found herself in financial troubles and relied on the pantry.
“The pantry has my heart. I needed to use it and it was there for us,” said Wolfe, who has been director there for nearly three years. “We wanted to give back. I’ll do whatever I have to to make sure somebody who needs it gets food. It’s about feeding people. Right now, people have enough problems. We want to help.”
For eligibility requirements, visit the Greater Washington County Food Bank at www.gwcfb.org. To contact the Community Circle Food Pantry, call 724-225-1540.