-by Anne Robertson

With demand for food assistance growing, Damien’s Place in Wareham, MA, is stepping up to the plate. Every Thursday and Saturday hundreds of families from Brockton to New Bedford and even Cape Cod are helped by Damien’s. Making it all happen takes the effort of dedicated volunteers. On a recent Tuesday, volunteers worked to source food from Shaws Supermarket and Bimbo Bakeries, to unload pallets of fresh fruit and vegetables donated by Tourtellot, and to pack perishable and non-perishable items for distribution, many of which were purchased through Greater Boston Food Bank. Damien’s Place then distributed these items on Thursday from 9 to 11:30am. Last Thursday over 100 families were helped. On Friday, the cycle began again and items to be distributed on Saturday were picked up, unpacked, sorted, checked, and ultimately packaged for distribution. Damien’s place has been routinely helping over 200 families on Saturdays. Distribution on Saturday takes place from 9:00 to 11:30am. The need truly is great! If you would like to volunteer, please go to Damien’s Place website, and fill out the volunteer form or contact Damien’s at volunteer@damiensfoodpantry.org.