OVERVIEW: A TEAM OF DEDICATED MEMBERS
The Plainville Community Food Pantry, Inc. (PCFP)
provides food, clothing, emergency energy assistance,
furniture and household items, crisis intervention and
referral services to Plainville residents in need. PCFP
offers holiday baskets at Easter, Thanksgiving and
Christmas. In addition to its regular programs, the pantry
offers the following programs for the registered children of
its adult clients: Secret Santa, Birthday Basket, Easter
Basket and the Back-to-School Program. PCFP also
makes an impact on the greater community through its
award-winning Bread Distribution Program. This
volunteer-run program provides bread and other baked
goods to more than thirty human service agencies
throughout Greater Hartford.
nutrition health program for Women, Infants, and Children,
and in collaboration with Plainville Adult Education offers
English as a Second Language and General Education
Development (GED) free of charge. In partnership with the
United Way, the pantry provides services which improve
the quality of life of individuals and families.
MISSION
The Plainville Community Food Pantry is a nonprofit
outreach agency that provides food, energy assistance,
clothing, crisis intervention and referral services to
individuals in need.
HISTORY
PCFP has its roots in the Plainville Human Relations
Council in the late 1960s. As the number of families in
need increased, the need for a larger, more organized
operation became apparent. In 1972, the pantry set up
headquarters in the Plainville Congregational Church
under the supervision of the Plainville Conference of
Churches and hired Sharon Collins as its first director.
In 1975, PCFP Board member, Joe Silverio, started
picking up day-old baked goods in his station wagon from
local grocery stores on his lunch hour to provide to pantry
clients. In 1979, Kathy Lickwar became the second
director of the pantry and the number of families served
grew from the original ten to 75. At that time, the pantry
began providing holiday baskets at Easter in addition to
the holiday giving already in place for Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
By 1983, the bread pick-up program had grown
considerably. More and larger grocery stores began
donating and Joe Silverio’s “lunch hour” job needed
helpers. Volunteers were recruited. These “Bread Guys”
were sought after by many of the large groceries, and in
some, were the only volunteers allowed to pick up day-old
baked goods.
The need for more space was evident and the pantry
moved to the basement of Linden Street School. In 1984,
Suzanne Gengras replaced Kathy Lickwar as PCFP
director in 1984. Support from local businesses,
churches, community organizations and individuals
continued to grow. PCFP had enough baked goods and
so began distributing extras to other agencies which
needed them. With this the Bread Distribution program
was born.
In 1989, Susie Woerz became director, and in 1990, the
pantry moved to the Our Lady of Mercy Parish Hall where
it found a home for ten years. Susie’s tenure as director
brought many positive changes to PCFP. It became an
independent non-profit organization managed by a Board
of Directors comprised of local business and community
leaders. Non-profit status allowed the pantry to apply for
and receive many grants, which have enabled it to add
programs which help clients become self-sufficient. The
Board of Directors and executive director worked hard to
build collaborations with other human service agencies in
the area.
In 1998, PCFP received a $390,000 grant from the State
of Connecticut to build a new facility. The structure was
completed in November 2000 and has been the pantry’s
home ever since. In 2001, two much-needed staff
members were added-an office manager and a
warehouse coordinator. These staff members, along with
the Executive Director, its dedicated Board and team of
volunteers continue to provide the programs the pantry’s
clients depend on.
In 2003, the PCFP Bread Distribution Program, then thirty
years and innumerable volunteer hours in the making, won
the Celebrate Our Communities Award from the
Community Foundation of Greater New Britain. Joseph R.
Silverio, the program’s founder, was honored through a
contribution in his name.
In 2004 the pantry received a $50,000 grant from CHEFA
to purchase a van for this program. This grant also
provided for five years of maintenance, insurance and
gas. Also in 2004, Loureiro Engineering, a Plainville,
Connecticut-based engineering and environmental
services company, built a two-car garage and storage
area to house our van and provide additional storage
space.
In 2005, in recognition of their generous support of PCFP,
the “Bread Guys” won the Ellen Varnum Volunteer of the
Year Award from RSVP in Bristol, Connecticut. That year
the pantry also received the United Way Shining Star
Award
Today the PCFP is a results-oriented, fiscally-responsible
community service organization dedicated to meeting and
maintaining the services necessary to provide for its
clients’ basic human needs and improve the quality of
lives.
Susie Woerz
Executive Director
Executive Director
