Jason Deveau, store manager of Donelan’s in Lincoln, helps load food donations for the food pantry at St. Joseph Church.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which operates a food pantry at St. Joseph Church in Lincoln, expressed gratitude to Donelan’s and its manager Jason Deveau for organizing a recent food drive and also for donating additional food to its pantry. This will allow the group to give out considerably more food than usual on its next pantry day and spend less money buying food this month.
During the food drive in November, shoppers at Donelan’s purchased over 200 five-item bags of groceries—twice as many as last year. The supermarket also donates day-old bread, cookies and pies throughout the year.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul saw an increase in clients this year. In October, 29 families (most of whom live or work in Lincoln or Weston) came to the food pantry, which gave out an estimated $30,000 worth of food in 2016.
Earlier this year, the organization received a $20,000 grant from Lincoln’s Ogden Codman Trust to help food pantry clients and others with emergency financial needs.