Reading Food Pantry Gets $46.2K For Upgrades

READING, MA — The Reading Food Pantry got a boost last week in the form of a $46,200 payment out of Reading’s local allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, the town announced on Wednesday.

More than 18 months after ARPA became law last March, this payment marked one of the first such payments in Reading as the town moves forward with the process of distributing its share of ARPA money to local organizations.

“With 13 new households utilizing the Reading Food Pantry this month, these ARPA funds couldn’t come soon enough,” town officials said in a statement last week.

Money for the food pantry will help buy new freezer and food storage space, as well as new food gift cards to hand out to food pantry clients. The food pantry will additionally use funding to conduct a space plan review aimed at identifying ways to use existing facility space more efficiently, as noted by the town.

“As more households need the pantry’s services, the facility needs help meeting demand,” officials said.

Reading established an ARPA Advisory Committee in 2021 to help survey community needs and review local applications for ARPA funding, among other things.

The process moved forward from there, with the committee forwarding recommendations to the Select Board for approval.

A variety of Reading officials were on hand for a check presentation at the Reading Food Pantry on Tuesday of last week to celebrate incoming ARPA money.

The Reading Food Pantry currently serves 133 households. That figure, officials said last week, is high, in part due to inflation and its pressures on families.

The food pantry is open to Reading residents via an application process. There are no income qualifications.

Residents who may need to utilize the pantry can visit one of its twice weekly distribution dates and let a volunteer know they are there for the first time. Clients can use the pantry up to twice per-month to meet their food needs.

The Reading Food Pantry sits behind the Old South United Methodist Church in Reading at 6 Salem St.

Distributions see volunteers bring order forms to clients, who request items that then get brought out to them.

Food pantry hours are as follows

• Monday — 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
• Friday — 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.