PASADENA, Md. — Plenty of people stop off at the Caring Cupboard on Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena to donate food, and residents, like Betty Gaw, appreciate it.
“Very important for the Pasadena area,” said Gaw, “People are struggling terribly. It’s very hard when they’re on a fixed income and they just don’t have the money to buy everything.”
But recently, volunteers say portions of the cupboard are coming up bare, and they need all of the help they can get.
“Breakfast is still one of the hardest things for us to keep stocked on the shelves, especially when you have families with a lot of kids, it tends to be something we have a hard time keeping, especially going into the holiday season,” said Morgan Coakley, one of the organization’s volunteers, “Things like turkey and mash potatoes and kind of sides like that are really important as well as a lot of fresh meat, dairy and fruit is something we have a hard time keeping as well.”
Since first opening its doors, the Caring Cupboard has filled a void in the community now serving some 500 families each month.
It has established little free pantries where people can drop off or pick up single items in a pinch outside churches and libraries across the county as well as serving meals at various schools.
“Just having food at this point is something that can be really hard for a lot of people,” said Coakley, “especially in this economy so it’s really important that we’re involved so much in the community.”
And those on the receiving end of the volunteers’ efforts couldn’t be more thankful.
“I have to struggle with a house payment. I have to struggle with BGE,” Gaw told us, “That’s about the main two that I struggle with every month. Every month.”
“But not much left when you get done with it?” we asked.
“No, not much at all. Not much at all,” she replied, “As a matter of fact, I had to take in a boarder to survive.”
