“This Could Be Your Neighbor”: Wilton Food Pantry Needs Community’s Help as Demand Surges

The Wilton Food Pantry at Comstock Community Center is busier than ever.

Earlier last week, Wilton Social Services Director Stephanie Rowe saw the demand in plain sight.

“[On Monday afternoon] between 12 and 4 p.m., we had 65 households shop for food,” Rowe said. “And we’re getting a lot of people saying, ‘I can’t believe I’m here. I can’t believe that I’m shopping in a food pantry.’“

Rowe hopes Wilton residents understand that food insecurity may be closer to home than they realized — perhaps even in the house next door or someone they know.

“I think that the main thing is, this could be your neighbor,” Rowe said. “People think, ‘I’ll never have to use a food pantry,’ but you never know. You never know when you’re going to need it, or your friend’s going to need it.”

Increased Demand

Rowe cites some striking numbers. In 2018, the Wilton Food Pantry served roughly 64 Wilton households, but today, there are at least 141 eligible households — and just last month, members of 134 households shopped the pantry.

Rowe does not attribute the increased demand to recent growth in the town. In fact, she noted that the town’s new inventory of affordable housing units had enabled a few residents to “graduate” from her department’s assistance.

Rather, she says those in need of the food pantry are typically longtime Wilton residents who suddenly find themselves in difficult circumstances.

“It’s been people that have lived in Wilton for a while and are just falling on hard times,” Rowe said, such as the loss of a job, a disability or new caregiving responsibility, among other examples.

She has observed several factors contributing to the increased needs:

• Reductions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits: in addition to budget cuts for the federal program, new work requirements are also making it harder for people to get assistance. Rowe told of a Wilton resident providing full-time care for a family member who doesn’t meet the new work requirements for SNAP eligibility. “They’re caring for their loved ones [but] the government doesn’t consider that ‘work,’ so they’re out of their benefits,” Rowe explained. “So now they’re shopping at the food pantry.”

• Economic pressures and uncertainty: in addition to the high cost of food and groceries, concerns about energy prices this winter are weighing heavily on residents’ minds. “People are just worried about the cost of everything,” Rowe said. “People are nervous about the cost of food, their rents are going up… People are worried about oil prices. It’s summer and they’re already asking [if] we have our energy assistance program up.”

The pantry’s goal, Rowe emphasized, is to help residents struggling to meet costs for basic necessities by alleviating some of their grocery costs.

“We are a supplement,” she said. “We’re trying to save you money for your electric bill by having the staples here, so that you don’t have to spend it at the grocery store.”

The Added Seasonal Challenge

Rowe says the bulk of the pantry’s food and monetary donations are typically received between October and the holiday season, when giving is often top-of-mind and schools and community groups organize drives. Those efforts can sustain the pantry for many months.

Right now, though, donations are in what Rowe calls the summer lull.

“In the summer, we don’t get a lot of donations,” she said. “But we’re stocking our food pantry every week. There’s always a need, even in the summer months, people still need food.”

Fighting Stigma

“There can be such a stigma of using a food pantry,” Rowe said, something she worries keeps some residents from seeking assistance that could prevent deeper financial problems.

She urges residents who need help to not hesitate to contact Social Services. Privacy and confidentiality are top priorities for the department. Pantry customers shop during scheduled hours, and community volunteers are not present during those times.

How To Help

Rowe thanked a number of local partners for their dedicated efforts to help keep the pantry stocked, including the Wilton Woman’s Club, Wilton Kiwanis, Village Market, Ambler Farm and Real Food CT, among others.

She says there are many practical, meaningful ways for individuals, families, students and other local groups to support the pantry’s work:

1. Purchase from the department’s Amazon Wish List: The pantry maintains a wish list of staple items that are delivered directly to Wilton Social Services.
2. Make a monetary donation: These gifts help Social Services fill in gaps and respond quickly when needs arise. (Send checks to Wilton Community Assistance Fund, P.O. Box 7051, Wilton, CT 06897.)
3. Make a food/grocery donation: Drop off donations Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. in the Social Services front office in the Senior Center. Staff will make sure items are brought to the pantry. Larger donations can be scheduled by calling the office at 203.834.6238.
4. Organize a food drive: Rowe says late summer or early fall food drives would be especially helpful and ideal for students seeking service projects, scout troops, neighborhood associations, sports teams, faith communities or any other interested groups.
5. Help re-stock pantry shelves: Volunteers are needed during the pantry’s off-hours, on days when the pantry is not open to customers, to keep shelves full and organized. Social Services keeps a list of interested volunteers to call upon whenever extra hands are needed.
6. Spread the word: Rowe says the pantry still suffers from lack of awareness — not only among those who could make donations to support it, but among the residents who need it most. “Sometimes we get clients that say, ‘I didn’t know about the pantry until I spoke to my neighbor, I didn’t even know this existed,’” she said.

Rowe is not relying solely on the generosity of Wilton residents. Last week, she attended the Aug. 3 Board of Selectmen meeting to seek approval to submit an application for a United Way Food Pantry Grant, a new opportunity offered to food pantries by the United Way of Connecticut (UWCT) together with Connecticut’s Department of Social Services (DSS).

With Wilton eligible to receive up to approximately one quarter of the pantry’s food spending last year, Rowe applied for a grant of $11,935.70. The selectmen unanimously authorized Rowe to proceed with the application.