Each year the Wakefield Rotary Club hosts a spring and fall food drives to benefit the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry. With COVID-19 concerns still on everyone’s mind, the club got creative. Past President Barbara Worley explained, “We didn’t want to add contact points between our members and grocery store shoppers this year, so we did something a little different. Traditionally the Wakefield Rotary does a food drive at Shaw’s in March however this year we thought we might be able to make an impact another way. We created an Un-Food Drive.” In March, Rotarians were asked to make a direct financial gift to support the pantry and the results were amazing. Worley added, “We raised way more than we expected.”
In fact, the Rotary Un-Food Drive raised a total of $4,025, which grew to a buying power of $16,500 at the Boston Food Bank. Rotary Club President John Tramontozzi added, "I want to thank all our members in the Wakefield Rotary Club for their generosity. In these difficult and challenging times, the Food Pantry is there to provide this needed service to the community.” Rotarian and Interfaith Food Pantry volunteer Judy Gordon noted that this donation couldn’t have come at a better time. “The number of guests at the Wakefield Food Pantry has increased over the year of the pandemic. In 2020, the number of households served increased to 617 and 320,523 pounds of food was distributed.” She added that the need for taking care of seniors was front of mind for the pantry as they continue to stay at home during COVID. To serve people at home, Gordon explained, “Pantry-to-door delivery service was added and is still especially popular with seniors.” But things continue to evolve, “People are feeling more comfortable. We are pleased that the pantry is now open for in-person shopping.”