Westborough Food Pantry says demand has surged; asks for donations and partners

Polly Thayer, vice president of the Westborough Food Pantry, told the Town of Westborough Economic Development Committee on April 2 that demand has grown sharply since 2020 and the pantry now serves more than 150 Westborough families — roughly 400–450 people.

Thayer said the pantry, on East Main Street, began nearly 38 years ago and operates as a client-choice pantry so neighbors can select foods they will actually use. "Typically, folks walk out of there with 2 to 4 bags of groceries," she said.

The pantry relies entirely on local donations and volunteers, Thayer said, and has no town, state or federal funding. "We spend over $1,000 a month just on eggs," she said, and estimated the pantry buys about $6,500 each month for staples such as bread, hamburger, chicken and milk. Paul DuPont, the pantry president, added that in terms of dollars the pantry's distributed food would be "up close to or over half $1,000,000."

The pantry operates with nine commercial freezers and eight refrigerators (a ninth is expected soon) and is staffed entirely by volunteers; Thayer said she and DuPont each contribute roughly 40 hours per week and the pantry depends on about 82 volunteers.

Thayer asked the committee and local businesses to support the pantry with food drives, financial donations and partnerships for logistics. She described standing partnerships — Mark's Moving and Storage helps collect food from the Worcester County Food Bank — and said local employers and school groups have run successful drives. The pantry also plans to coordinate with the farmers market to collect unsold produce and to expand acceptance of SNAP and Venmo payments.

Thayer listed upcoming donation opportunities: an April 6 food drive run by the Appalachian Service Project youth group and the Postal Service food drive on May 11. "We would love financial donations also," she said, noting vouchers the pantry provides so clients can purchase a meal or farm-stand produce.

Committee members asked about materials and eligibility; Thayer said they can provide printed handouts and that, for Worcester County Food Bank tracking, clients complete a simple form but are not asked for financial details. "No one walks away without any food," she said. Thayer invited members to visit the pantry and to contact the organization about coordinating drives or donations.

The pantry presentation closed with requests for help on transportation logistics and continued collaboration with town groups.

Next step: pantry organizers asked members to drop off printed materials in town and consider hosting or publicizing drives ahead of the listed dates.