05/02/2005
By LISA BACKUS , Special to the Herald 

PLAINVILLE -- For more than 16 years, Suzie Woerz has fed the hungry, provided services to struggling families, filled new backpacks for children who otherwise wouldn't have a special first day of school and organized the distribution of thousands of loaves of bread to soup kitchens and homeless shelters throughout the area. 

As the long-time executive director of The Plainville Community Food Pantry, on any given day, Woerz can be looking for funding to provide 80 families with groceries, sorting summer t-shirts and shorts from a recent clothing drive or helping a single mother with young children fill out the paperwork to receive supplemental nutrition through the state's Women, Infants and Children Program.

Woerz admits the job can be as exhausting as it is exhilarating. But, she said there's never a day when she doesn't understand that this is what she was meant to do. 

"I love what I do," Woerz said. ""I love working with people, I like helping people and you couldn't ask for a better community to be in -- it helps make my job so much easier. It's very rewarding when you help someone get out of a crisis and then you see them get back on their feet." 

The Plainville Community Food Pantry is a multipurpose nonprofit agency that provides food, fuel, clothing, crisis intervention and referrals to individuals and families in need in Plainville. 

They also sponsor English as a Second Language and G.E.D. preparation classes and information on positive parenting, money management and health care and nutrition guidance for families with young children. 

The agency informally started out in the late 1960s as a food pantry in donated headquarters. They currently operate out of their own 5,000-square-foot warehouse on South Canal Street in Plainville. But far from acting as an ordinary "food pantry," the organization sees to a wide variety of needs from community members, all designed to get them out of crisis and back on the road to independence. 

"When we opened this facility in 2000, we had about 75 families and individuals that were using our food pantry and our services," Woerz said. "Now we have between 100 to 125 and we pick up more families and individuals daily. The demands of this job and on the pantry are huge. And the issues are more severe and they are harder to fix because of cuts in other programs." 

About 80 families or individuals "shop" at the food pantry on a weekly or monthly basis. Woerz said clients, who have been rigorously screened for appropriateness for the program, can "shop" on their own from the dozens of shelves of food in the warehouse. 

"The clients come in and actually shop," Woerz explained. "It's called 'client choice' and they get to go through and pick out what they actually want, rather than have us hand them a bag of groceries. It gives them their dignity and a way to make a decision. A lot of times when you are struggling, so much of your life is decided for you. This helps them have control over something in their lives." 

The pantry also collects donations to fill 125 holiday food baskets for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter and provides Christmas presents and Easter for the children of clients. 

On a regular basis, some of the pantry's 80 volunteers take turns using the organization's van to pick up hundreds of loaves of day-old bread from several local supermarkets to deliver it to other soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters throughout the area.

Volunteers and the staff also collected new backpacks, school supplies, sneakers, socks and underwear to give every client's child a fresh start on the first day of school. 

Woerz said part of the organization's mission to educate the public and potential clients about the wide array of services the pantry has to offer and that every candidate that receives help is genuinely in need and can expect a hand up rather than a hand out. 

"We don't just hand out a bag of groceries, we work with clients and their crisis to get them back on their feet," Woerz said. "I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what we do. We help people survive through a crisis and make their way out." 

On this day, warehouse manager Diane Nordgren is sorting through stacks and stacks of clothing off all types and sizes from a recent clothing drive. Nordgren and volunteer Joe Plourde are also moving the clothing racks and donated furniture that will be distributed to those in need to accommodate a floor polishing set to take place over the weekend. 

"I enjoy it a lot because you're working with people who really need help," Nordgren said. "Suzie is a peach, she's an excellent boss. This is really my dream job. You get to help a lot of people and I love that." Last year, the pantry distributed more than 74,000 tons of food. The organization exists through grants, private donations of food, clothing, furniture and services and fundraisers supported by the community. 

Woerz said events like the upcoming 14th annual J. Timothy's Golf Classic and the annual postal drive on May 14 help keep the cupboards stocked all year long. 

Woerz said both events will help the pantry provide food and other essential items throughout the summer months when the need is still great because children will be home from school. 

"Our clients' children usually get free lunch at school, and now they will be home and their parents will have to stretch their budgets to feed them," Woerz explained. "Without everyone in this community we wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be able to do this. That's why I recently moved to Plainville. It's such a great community that takes care of its own. I love it here." 

To participate as a sponsor in the Golf Classic or for more information on volunteering, donating or receiving services from the pantry, call (860) 747-1919. 

To participate in the annual postal drive, place nonperishable food items next to your mailbox on May 14 in time for your regular mail delivery.

In case of rain, please put store items in plastic bags. Postal workers will collect the food items as part of their regular postal delivery on that day. 

©The Herald 2005