New food pantry coordinator jumps headfirst into role

Mary Murray’s official start date in the newly created role of coordinator of the Canton Food Pantry was November 17, but the former director of purchasing for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue chose to begin the week prior in order to familiarize herself with the job.

Murray brings 37 years of finance and organizational experience to her new position, as well as common sense and compassion for others. She takes over the leadership role from Mary Buckley, who served as the director of the food pantry on a volunteer basis.

Food Pantry Coordinator Mary Murray

Murray is a lifelong resident of Canton, and she and her husband raised their three children in the house in which her husband grew up. The three Murray children all work in Canton: Julianna is a Canton police officer, Christina is a nurse at the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children, and Bill works at Knollwood Memorial Park.

Murray retired in January and planned to spend her time volunteering with the Live Strong Program at the YMCA in Stoughton, continuing her involvement with the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary, and helping to care for her grandchildren. In August, however, her husband, Bill, saw the posting for the food pantry position and suggested it was something she would be good at. Murray decided to submit her resume and after a series of interviews and a background check, the board of the Canton Helpline voted to approve her selection as coordinator.

Prior to starting the job, Murray’s only experience with the food pantry had been to make donations through the Ladies Auxiliary. “People think that Canton is a rich town,” she said. “And for the most part, it can be. However, the need in this town, from what people have told me, has grown tremendously. I’m new on the job, but it’s almost like every week there seems to be more shoppers.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life. Canton residents who are experiencing food insecurity can shop at the food pantry to select food for themselves and their families. They need to fill out a registration form, show at least two forms of proof of residency in the town, proof of any dependents for whom they are responsible, and any benefits they receive such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or Social Security.

The Canton Food Pantry is located in the rear of the Rodman Administration Building at 960R Washington Street. The space is organized into different areas, with the main room filled with shelves stocked and organized with canned and boxed food items. There is also a room off the main area where paper goods and personal care items are stocked, another with refrigerator and freezer space, a third for use by shoppers with larger families, and a space for Murray’s office.

Only one shopper is allowed to shop at a time and is accompanied by a volunteer who explains how many boxes or cans of each item they are allowed and then takes them off the shelf and places them in the shopper’s cart — a procedure implemented in response to COVID. The volunteers also make sure that there is enough space between shoppers and help them carry their food to their vehicles. All volunteers and shoppers wear masks.

Murray has seen the generosity of town residents through the number of people who volunteer and donate food and other items. When she started, volunteers told her that November is the busiest month of the year. “To say I was overwhelmed (by the number of donations) is an understatement,” she said.

Schools, banks, and businesses held food drives in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving Day, and the day before Thanksgiving, residents started dropping off food by 7:30 a.m.

Every item of food that is donated or purchased for the pantry is placed into a holding room to be weighed and documented. All of the food must be checked for expiration dates as no expired food can be placed on shelves for shoppers.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into the Canton Food Pantry that I don’t think people know,” Murray said. “I didn’t, until I came here. I would like to change next year and ask that the donations come in early November, so that we can get it out to our clients in a more timely manner. Our shelves were fairly well stocked and everybody got what they needed and then some. We did give gift cards to supplement to buy a turkey, because we don’t have the space [to carry them].”

Murray said that she is impressed not only by the generosity of the Canton community, but also by the work done by volunteers at the pantry. “This is a very well-oiled machine,” she said. “I can’t say it enough. The people who [volunteer] want to be here, have been here for a while, and they know what they’re doing. They all work well together. They’re all simply amazing. I’ve got some very big shoes to fill [following] Mary Buckley.”

The Canton Food Pantry obtains food and other items from different sources, including through monthly purchases at the Greater Boston Food Bank, which sells various staple items at a greatly reduced cost. Volunteers drive a rented truck to Boston to pick up the food. Other volunteers wait at the pantry to unload the food when the truck returns.

On Monday mornings Lovin’ Spoonfuls, a food rescue service, picks up and distributes fresh, healthy food that has not expired but would otherwise be thrown away. Volunteers check to see what the pantry is low on and then go onto the truck and choose what they need from what is available.

On Murray’s first day, she met Jen Burgess from Addie’s Grocery, an online grocery store in Norwood. Burgess stopped by the food pantry to introduce herself and to donate nearly 20 cases of bananas. She has since donated hundreds of pounds of food to the pantry, including meat and fresh produce. “The shoppers were amazed, because we don’t get a lot of fresh produce,” Murray said. “That’s one thing I’d like to see more of.”

Food donation boxes are located at the Canton library, J. L. Pratt Realtors, the Bank of Canton, and Canton Co-operative Bank. Donations can also be dropped off at the pantry on Monday mornings from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Monetary donations are always welcomed, either through cantonmahelpline.org or by sending a check made out to “Canton Food Pantry.”

The pantry is open Tuesdays from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m. for registered senior citizens and Wednesdays from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m. for other registered residents. Shoppers may visit every other week. It is also open the first Saturday of each month from 10 to 10:30 a.m.

Murray estimated that the food pantry serves about 200 clients each month, with some months seeing an increase in shoppers.

While very grateful for the huge number of donations in November, she urged residents not to forget about the pantry during other times of the year. “People eat all year long, and especially the children,” she said. “I don’t want them to be forgotten in the months of July and August.”

She would like to see a food drive possibly in early June to encourage people to donate before they leave for vacation. “One last push,” she said, “to carry us through the summer months.”

Murray said that she loves her new job and finds it very satisfying to help people in need. She has one concern, however, and that is that perhaps other people in need are apprehensive about seeking food. “I would like to see folks who really need us reach out to us,” she said.

For more information about the Canton Food Pantry, call 781-821-8062 or visit cantonmahelpline.org/food-pantry.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Dec 29 2022. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.