‘Helping Neighbors’ Nears Target To Raise $90K For Family Pantry By Labor Day

What did you accomplish this summer? Did you catch up on lost family time? Get a day at the beach? Get out on the water? 

If you contributed to the Cape Cod Chronicle’s Summertime Helping Neighbors campaign, you helped the Family Pantry provide nearly 360,000 nutritious meals. And you’ve still got time for a round of mini-golf.

 Thanks to the generosity of Chronicle readers who have already given $84,637, the campaign is just within reach of its $90,000 goal. If you haven’t contributed yet, there’s still time to do so before the campaign closes on Labor Day; all donations up to the goal are matched dollar-for-dollar. 

 “We are so grateful for the continued support of The Chronicle readers. The summer is a time when donations are quiet,” Family Pantry Executive Director Christine Menard said Monday. “The Chronicle campaign is a lifeline to get us through the quiet months and allows the Pantry to continue to meet the demand of the families we support.”

 There’s generally a slight lull in client visits in July and early August, though hundreds of families continue to come for assistance every week. With the approach of Labor Day, things get busy again.

 “It kicks right back up when those kids start going back to school,” Menard said. While the Pantry might serve 675 families a week in July, the number generally tops 750 in October. Even with the buying power of the Greater Boston Food Bank, which means every donated dollar buys four meals, that’s a lot of mouths to feed.

 “The Pantry will see a significant rise in client visits as the summer comes to a close and many of our families have their hours reduced or are laid off all together,” Menard said. And with charitable giving not hitting its stride again until the holidays, the boost provided by Summertime Helping Neighbors comes at the right time.

 The Chronicle has supported the Family Pantry with its holiday-season Helping Neighbors campaign since 2004, when about $11,000 was raised. Since then, the holiday campaign has raised more than $1.2 million, with Chronicle readers giving more than $100,000 in each of the past four years. 

But it was clear that the campaign was missing something: generous summer residents and visitors asked for their opportunity to pitch in as well. The summertime campaign was launched in 2017, and has generated around $600,000 since that time.

 “Our summer folks contribute so much to the community, fueling the local economy and supporting our towns with their property tax payments. It’s really inspiring to see them step up, summer after summer, to help the Family Pantry,” Cape Cod Chronicle Publisher Henry C. Hyora said. “They almost surely support charities at home in the winter, but still dig deep to help Cape Codders in the summertime. That’s a very special thing.”

 It’s also worth noting that there are quite a few year-rounders who show up in each week’s donor list, and who give again during the holiday drive.

 “Reaching our goal isn’t an arbitrary number. Thanks to the Campbell family and anonymous donors, every donation up to $90,000 is matched,” Hyora said. “We don’t want to leave any of that money on the table.” So the push is on to raise just $5,363 before Labor Day weekend is over. 

To contribute to The Chronicle's Helping Neighbors campaign, click here. You can also mail a tax-deductible contribution to The Family Pantry, 133 Queen Anne Rd., Harwich, MA 02645, or call 508-432-6519 to donate by credit card.