WALTHAM, MA — A Waltham food pantry will be popping up Thursday, July 23, at St. Mary’s Parish on School Street for those facing hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The effort is one of several in the city each month with the aim of helping ease the hardship faced by an increasing number of residents amid the stay at home order and subsequent closures and layoffs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Healthy Waltham, which is organizing the event, you don’t need to register for the outdoor event. And all food is pre-bagged. Officials are asking that those who participate only take one bag per family and follow pandemic safety precautions – from wearing masks to distancing.
The event starts at 4 p.m. and organizers plan to be there until 5:30 p.m. or until they run out of supplies. In previous weeks the pop up Community Response Food Pantry has been attended by hundreds.
At a Healthy Waltham pantry pop up at Government Center in April, hundreds of people showed up. At a pop up pantry in May organized by the mayor and aided by the Waltham City Council, Lions Club gave out of two bags of groceries to 400 people within the first hour it was open, officials gave out another 150 $25 gift cards to Market Basket, but an hour before the pop up pantry was set to close and almost all of the cards were handed out, people were still showing up asking about when the next pantry event might happen.
This just one of about a dozen options for residents in need of food right now. There are programs offered by the schools, Salvation Army, Boys & Girls Club, the YMCA, the Middlesex Human Services Agency, the Community Day Center and Healthy Waltham.
There are also groups, such as Mutual Aid Waltham cataloging resources and connecting residents in need with those resources.
The Greater Boston Food Bank, Brandeis University, Food For Free and St. Mary’s are sponsoring this event along with the city.
A pantry will also be held on July 30.
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This article originally appeared on the Waltham Patch
