Hundreds Attend Pantry’s ‘Grab And Go’ Food Giveaways

ORLEANS – On a drizzly Sunday, hundreds of families turned out to receive food packages from the Family Pantry of Cape Cod in a no-questions-asked drive-through distribution event.

Volunteers handed out food to 168 families in the parking lot of Nauset Regional Middle School, and a team at Barnstable High School in Hyannis distributed another 250 packages. That’s 418 families with groceries for the week, Family Pantry Executive Director Christine Menard said, but more importantly, it’s a chance to introduce the Pantry to new potential clients.

“The Grab-and-Go event is held each spring and is intended to introduce Cape residents to the Family Pantry,” she said. Each family received 35 pounds of nonperishable food, a bag of apples and a gift card donated by Star Market, along with information on the services the Family Pantry provides.

Based in Harwich, the Family Pantry continues to see record numbers of clients each week. In addition to senior citizens and families with young children, clients often include people who are working more than one job, but still struggling with food insecurity.