Pernet’s new Choice Food Pantry opens in time for Thanksgiving

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent

WORCESTER - When Sheilah Dooley eats her Thanksgiving dinner with her family, she usually wishes she had done more for those in need.

“I always feel guilty sitting around my dining room table,” she said, “when I should be out volunteering or I feel like I should be at the Bishop’s Thanksgiving dinner that the diocese puts on. But I’m lucky to have my own family to celebrate with.”

As executive director of Pernet Family Health Service, Mrs. Dooley already does a lot to help those in need.

Through its many programs, including daycare, maternal and child nursing, early intervention, and youth and parental plans, Pernet supports more than 12,500 people in Central Mass.

Joel Wallen, associate executive director, estimated that Pernet helps feed 450-500 people in need at no cost each week. He said more than 90 percent of the food is distributed to clients in Worcester and the rest goes to people from nearby towns. Pernet distributes food to anyone in need each Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. until supplies run out. People begin lining up outside as early as 7:30 a.m. and three dozen could be in line by the time the pantry opens.

On Nov. 4 and 5, 1,200 people received food from the pantry. That number included new clients representing 198 households and 672 people.

Yildiz Laza, Pernet emergency assistance coordinator, said that was the most clients the pantry has had this year and she attributed the boost to people fearing the loss or delay in receiving their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits this month due to the federal government shutdown. The federal government reopened Nov. 13.

Mr. Wallen said that, fortunately, Pernet has received more donations recently as well.

“It is the combination of SNAP and food insecurity,” he said, “really being on people’s radar, coupled with it being Thanksgiving time, which oftentimes brings a lot of generosity around food.”

Clients have registered to receive boxes of Thanksgiving meals and they’ll be able to pick them up through Tuesday of the week of Thanksgiving. Pernet will deliver boxes to some clients who receive in-home services. Mr. Wallen said Pernet expects to distribute more than 10,000 pounds of food for Thanksgiving to 300-350 families. The boxes will contain turkey, potatoes, carrots, onions, cranberry sauce and pie or a cake mix. Those who don’t want turkey will receive gift cards to purchase something else. Clients will cook the meals themselves.

“They are so appreciative,” Mrs. Dooley said. “Sometimes they have tears in their eyes. It means so much to them. I guess Thanksgiving is all about family.”

So is Pernet Family Health Service, whose motto is to “Strengthen Families.”

“It’s an honor for us to do this,” Mrs. Dooley said.

“We know that holidays can be really stressful for people,” Mr. Wallen said. “We want to reduce that or eliminate that stress. You know that you’re going to have a full Thanksgiving Day meal that you can prepare and have with your family. We want to help facilitate that.”

Mr. Wallen admits he has mixed feelings about helping so many people. He wishes the need didn’t exist, but he’s pleased that donors help Pernet serve those in need.

“A lot of them are really hard working,” Mr. Wallen said of the clients. “Some of the families are not intact, but there are some parents that are very involved in their kids’ lives, but they simply don’t have the means to provide their family with Thanksgiving dinner or toys for Christmas. So our goal is to come alongside them and help facilitate that.”

For Christmas, Pernet expects to hand out toys and clothing to 1,200 children rather than distribute food.

Pernet was founded 70 years ago by the Little Sisters of the Assumption and named after Father Etienne Pernet, a French Assumptionist priest who co-founded the Little Sisters of the Assumption in 1865 in Paris, to serve families in need.

Pernet receives funding from Partners in Charity and gets most of its food from the Worcester County Food Bank, but Blessed Sacrament in Worcester, St. Mary in Jefferson and Our Lady of Hope in Grafton are among the local parishes which donate food as well. Mrs. Dooley is a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament.

Pernet opened its new Choice Food Pantry at its headquarters at 237 Millbury St. to clients on Oct. 20 and held a ribbon cutting ceremony, with some local politicians in attendance, on Oct. 31.

The new pantry cost $170,000 to build, including the purchase of a commercial freezer, and the City of Worcester contributed $122,500, according to Mr. Wallen.

Pernet turned a storage room into a food pantry in order to stock shelves with food, paper products and personal care items that clients can select at no cost. Previously, Pernet distributed pre-packaged bags of food.

“It functions almost like a grocery store,” Mr. Wallen said. “They come, they check in and then they’re able to go around the room and quote-unquote go shopping and select food that works best for them and their family.”

Mr. Wallen said Pernet needed to change the way it distributed food because it gives away 5,000-6,000 pounds of food each month, twice as much as five years ago before the pandemic. Pernet also distributes clothing and 150 boxes of diapers per month.

“It’s been very good,” Mr. Wallen said. “Clients definitely appreciate the experience, they appreciate being able to self-select their food. It reduces the possibility of food waste for us. Obviously, it’s a little bit of an adjustment for our clients and our staff, but it’s worked out really well.”

John McCabe began volunteering for Pernet in 2000 after his pastor, Father James Flynn, at St. Matthew in Southborough, asked during Mass if anyone could bring six bicycles to Pernet. Mr. McCabe had a truck so he delivered the bikes and he ended up volunteering for 25 years, and serving on the board of directors for many years, before stepping away in September at age 81.

For several years, he oversaw the Thanksgiving and Christmas programs. Members of the board filled sturdy banana boxes with food for Thanksgiving.

“You see the direct benefits,” Mr. McCabe said. “Clients come in with their kids or you hear stories from the case workers and it was very rewarding.”

Mr. McCabe believes in helping families.

“That’s the reason that I’ve stayed involved,” Mr. McCabe said, “the fact that they’re trying to reinforce the family unit, and that’s why I support them with time and money, because I think it’s a very effective organization that’s really hands-on.”

Brent Rutter, 48, of Holden, has volunteered most Tuesdays at the food pantry for the past three years. He used to pack food bags, but now he stocks shelves.

As the creative director at a design agency, Mr. Rutter talks to clients on Zoom.

“But this is more tangible,” he said of volunteering at the food pantry, “where you hand somebody a bag of groceries. There’s something wonderful about that.”

“Most of the time people are pleasant and appreciative,” he said, “even though they’ve been standing in line for a while. They always say thank you and the team at Pernet does a really nice job. It’s got to be hard to take handouts for some people, but I think they handle it very well in not making someone feel like they’re getting a handout.”

– To donate to Pernet, visit pernetfamilyhealth.org.