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
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
