Clothing Boutique, Second Glance Store Are Key To Family Pantry’s Success

HARWICH – The Family Pantry is much more than a food source for the local community. 

 The pantry receives 135 tons of donated clothing each year, and 100 volunteers work to sort through the clothing and distribute it through the pantry’s various clothing outlets. 

 While a portion of the clothing and a wide variety of other donated items are made available to the pantry’s clients through its boutique, the pantry also operates The Second Glance Thrift Boutique, a store that is open to the public from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 

 “It meets the mission because every piece of clothing that’s sold at Second Glance is a direct donation to the food program,” Family Pantry Executive Director Christine Menard said. “Whatever doesn’t fit the grade for either the pantry or families or Second Glance, we send to the textile recycling. We’ve been doing that for almost 10 years — well before they said clothing can’t go into landfills.”

 Donated clothing must be clean and gently used, though often clothing is donated to the pantry fresh and new with the tags on it. Second Glance is an ideal place to stop by to cross some holiday gifts off your list while benefiting the pantry’s fundraising efforts.

 “Second Glance has everything you could want, from clothing to furniture to art, jewelry and housewares,” Menard said. “You name it, we have it. And, you know, it’s thought of as the Nordstrom of thrift and it's appropriate because when you go in, you don't realize it's a thrift shop. 

“If you didn't know it was a thrift shop, you would not,” she said.

Menard noted Second Glance is “impeccably merchandised” in addition to being the right budget for those looking to save. 

“The pricing is wonderful for those that may be on a budget and for those that are looking for a deal,” she said. “We have the high-end folks shopping there and the people that need us from a financial perspective. It’s a huge part of our sustainability plan. The goal is to hopefully raise enough over there that it pays for our entire food budget.”

When pantry clients go to pick up their food, they also have an opportunity to shop in the boutique store with its own curated items. 

“You go into the boutique and you're given a bag for adults and a bag for children and you can fill those bags up with whatever you like in the shop, just like the food,” Menard said. “You can [go] every time you shop for the pantry, and we give [clients] a slip and they get about 10 minutes to shop and then they pick what they want and they're off and good.”

Menard encourages those who are interested in donating items to make sure they aren’t worn down or dirty. All of the clothing and other goods that are donated are reviewed by the pantry’s volunteers before reaching the shelves, a demanding and taxing task. 

“We’ve got a great team that runs it, I have to say that,” Menard said. “(Thrift shop manager) Jennifer Vaughn and (assistant manager) Daphne Mike do a phenomenal job over there. Plus they have very, very dedicated volunteers.”

Visit thefamilypantry.com for more information about the pantry and its thrift shop.