Philanthropy A to Z

F – Family Pantry of Cape Cod

Text by Elizabeth Shaw

The Family Pantry of Cape Cod has been providing food security to those in need on the Cape since 1989. What started as a food drive on the Fourth of July that year has turned into the Cape’s largest food pantry. Programs include the full food pantry, a mobile meal distribution service, the Second Glance Thrift Shop and a satellite pantry out of Cape Cod Community College. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all food distribution is being done curbside, keeping with social distancing guidelines. 

The Pantry aims to provide food for everyone and anyone in need and, over the course of their 30-year history, have expanded their programs to help as many people as possible. The Pantry is a “choice pantry”, meaning that clients can pick whatever food they’d like, rather than receiving pre-bagged food. Thanks to their partnership with the Greater Boston Food Bank, as well as their production garden built in 2011, the Pantry is able to provide nutritious food with a large selection of fresh produce, meats and other foods, as well as canned and packaged items. 

Second Glance Thrift Shop’s new Donation Center, located at the rear of the store’s building, is accepting gently used men’s and women’s clothing, as well as jewelry, artwork, small appliances, and house and kitchen wares on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8-10 am. The Healthy Meals in Motion Mobile Food Pantry program partners with the Councils on Aging in Dennis, Brewster, Chatham, Eastham and Provincetown to provide healthy, nutritious meals to senior citizens through a monthly food distribution. They have also partnered with the Barnstable County Public Health Nurses to create a program for the general public centered around the impact of healthy eating and nutrition on diabetes and hypertension. 

For more information and to find out how to help, visit thefamilypantry.com.