Constance O’Brien and the food pantry at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, located on Chester Avenue, have continued their work in providing a place that needy families can obtain food even through the summer. While donations slow down during the summer, the members of the food pantry do as much as they can to help the families of Moorestown and the surrounding areas.
“Our initial intention for this pantry was to try and catch the people that may not qualify for government assistance,” said O’Brien. “That’s why the only information that we ask for from people is their name, how many people they have in their family and how they heard about us. No one has to show any ID or documentation.
“We have a lot of regulars here,” said O’Brien. “During the summer, donations slow down a little. There have been summers where our cupboards are pretty much bare and it was hard to get donations, but lately, we have been doing better.”
According to O’Brien, the Saint Matthew Lutheran Church food pantry was started by Live Civilly, a family organization that tasked itself with filling a need in the community. The pantry started on a small scale in a closet in the church, however, it has now grown to a big room and has been able to help more and more families.
“The church has been so gracious to give us this bigger room,” said O’Brien. “We are open the first and third Mondays of the month from noon to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. We always assemble bags for people with constant things, but we allow people to trade in things that they may not like. I think making the bags allows people to know that regardless of what we have, they’ll definitely have at least two bags of the essentials.”
“We also have a volunteer bring in fruit every time we’re open,” O’Brien continued. “We try to be fair. Typically people get two bags of the basic things and maybe two other bags depending on how much we have.”
The items that the Saint Matthew Lutheran Church food pantry hands out to everyone include two boxes of pasta, one jar of pasta sauce, two boxes of mac ’n cheese, one jar of canned pasta, one canned tomato item, two cans of vegetables, two cans of canned protein, one box of mashed potatoes or stuffing, a one-pound bag of rice, one jar of peanut butter, one jar of jelly, one can of canned beans, baked beans and canned fruit, one box of cereal, two cans of soup and a sleeve of crackers.
“I personally wanted to do something in my own community,” said O’Brien. “I’m retired now, but in my professional career, I spent a lot of time in people’s houses. There’s always these hidden costs of living and I recognized that sometimes it’s hard for people to get through the month.”
Those looking to get involved with the Saint Matthew Lutheran Church food pantry or who want to donate, can contact O’Brien at Conniemobrien@yahoo.com.
