Food Donations at All-Time Low, Martha's Pantry Appeals for Help

HAWTHORNE, NJ – Martha’s Pantry at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church has helped thousands of people over the five years it has been serving the community. But, owing to a severe drop in nonperishable food donations and money, the volunteers who run the operation are worried about how they will be able to carry on their mission.

Martha’s Pantry is open to those who need it on the first and third Saturday of each month, from 10 a.m. to noon. Linda Heerema, the pantry’s director, said, “We are going to celebrate its fifth anniversary on November 2, and we serve roughly 35 to 40 families at every opening, which is roughly anywhere from 100 to 150 people.”

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A handful of volunteers, parishioners of the church, have dutifully and diligently run the pantry through all weather and during the COVID pandemic. In addition to foodstuffs, manpower is also a need, with the church appealing to anyone willing to lend a hand.

Clients of the pantry get a variety of items when they visit. “The standard bag may be cereal, pasta, pasta sauce, vegetables, potatoes, rice, tuna, spam, mac and cheese, soup, and beans. They always ask for laundry detergent, paper goods, and cooking oil,” Heerema said. “Those are our three biggest movers.”

As the pantry does not have any freezers or refrigerators, only nonperishable goods can be taken. Paper towels, toothpaste, feminine care products, diapers, and other such items are also welcome and needed.

Heerema said that donations were at their highest during the pandemic. She attributed high food costs to the reason why donations since then have dropped off. “Over the last year,” she said, “it has just lessened. Each week, less and less has come in. I can't blame people. Prices are high, and it's hard enough to feed your own family without donating to us. We don't work on anything corporate. It's all through the donations of the parishioners and the public.”

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As of this writing, Heerema said donations reached their lowest level to date. What, in particular, is needed? “Everything,” she said. “We're not fussy.”

Food donations have to be within their expiration dates, however, otherwise, they cannot be given away.

Donors tend to give more around the holidays, but people need to eat every day of the year. “It was a tough summer,” she said. “It hit our budget hard.”

Those who want to help keep the pantry in operation, servicing the community, but are unable to give food, can make monetary donations or give grocery store gift cards which will be used to help clients.

“They can mail money or gift cards to St. Clement’s Church or they can drop them off on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when someone's there,” Heerema said, recommending that donors call ahead to make sure someone would be available to receive their donation.

Additionally, donations can be easily and speedily accepted through Venmo, sending money to @stclements271 with the reference “Martha’s Pantry” in the note.

When Martha’s Pantry first opened, Heerema said the bulk of the clients were young families. Since that time, there has been a demographic shift. “Now we have more senior citizens. We do have some young families, but the majority are seniors. They come from Hawthorne, Haledon, Midland Park, Prospect Park, Paterson, Fair Lawn, mostly all local.”

A tour of Martha’s Pantry showed that the shelves, normally filled to the edge, were severely depleted, with some stocks at half, or less, capacity. Heerema said that, due to the drop in donations, they have had to be strategic in their giving methods to make the most of what they have unless donations increase.

For those who wish to help, there are two drop-off boxes by the back door of St. Clement’s Church where donors can leave their nonperishable goods at any time. Prospective volunteers looking to lend a hand are encouraged to call the office. The office phone number is (973) 427-8118 and the church is located at 271 Lafayette Avenue.

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