Providing Room To Grow
When Susie Woerz became Executive Director of the Plainville Community Food Pantry in 1989, it was located in the basement of the Linden Street School. As the only employee, Woerz’s desk was squeezed between shelves and stacks of food. 
A decade later, the Food Pantry was able to construct a 5,000 square foot building on South Canal Street. The larger, more efficient space allowed the Pantry to serve a growing client base. A grant from the Community Foundation provided much needed funds during the transition and growth period.
“The Foundation money was a huge boost to help us get where we are today,” says Woerz. It enabled her to hire temporary employees until she determined where she needed staff.
The Foundation’s support was more than financial. The Foundation sent Woerz to grant-writing school to learn how to secure additional funding, and provided more money to the Food Pantry in subsequent years for the continued support of staff positions.
“Most of our funding is from foundations,” says Woerz. “You need to show the foundations and the people that give to foundations that you’ll be around for a long time.”
The Plainville Community Food Pantry has been around for 40 years. They serve 80 households per month with the help of some 80 volunteers.
What makes this Pantry unique is client choice. Instead of being handed a bag of food, clients make confidential appointments to “shop” from the Pantry’s warehouse. In addition to groceries, the Pantry stocks clothing, sheets, books and other miscellaneous donated items. I think client choice is a great opportunity for them to become self-sufficient,” says Woerz.
In addition to the food subsidy service, the Food Pantry offers an Intervention and Referral program, Fuel Bank, Back-to-School program, Holiday Basket program, Secret San¬ta program, and Bread Distribution Program.
“The people who come here don’t want to be here,” says Woerz. “We’re serving the working poor, the disabled, the elderly, someone who lost a loved one through illness, death, or divorce.”
Woerz has to lean heavily on the community for financial support, but is equally appreciative of the people who leave their legacies to organizations like the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain. “The Foundation makes sure the money gets where the donor wanted it to go,” says Woerz.
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