Damien's Food Pantry increases parking, donates community garden beds
Dixie and Matthew Hill work in their community garden bed at Damien’s Pantry in 2024. File photo
Dixie and Matthew Hill work in their community garden bed at Damien’s Pantry in 2024. File photo
Due to growing needs from community members, Damien's Food Pantry has opted to donate existing garden beds to add parking spaces.
The food pantry at 242 Marion Road first planted the seeds to it's community garden with a grant by A.D Makepeace in May 2024. With 33 raised garden beds, the goal was to give residents the space and assistance to grow their own food.
As community members got their hands dirty, the pantry sought $33,800 from Community Preservation Funds to expand its existing community garden with the installation of 20 new raised beds, a new irrigation line and permanent fencing around the entire community garden.
Community Preservation Funds come from a surtax on property values above $100,000 and, under the terms of the state’s Community Preservation Act, must be spent on historic preservation, open space preservation, recreation and affordable housing.
According to Executive Director Rachel Resendes the rise of food insecurity, need for more volunteers and traffic backups onto Route 6 pushed the pantry to remove the beds.
"We can probably push an extra 100 families through by the end of the day with the new space," Resendes said.
That $33,800 has been given back the the Community Preservation Fund to be spent on other projects. The beds have been given to New Bedford Public Schools to be used for the districts new culinary building.
As for the community members who used to spend their days digging through the weeds, Resendes said she's been directing the green-thumbed residents to the volunteer at the Marion Institute's Frogfoot Farm and the Wareham Garden Club.
Resendes said that with the recent SNAP benefit cuts and federal funding scares, the extra space is necessary going forward. Future opportunities like compost bins will be made available for those interested in still giving back to the environment.
"It just was not feasible for us— we have to utilize more. It's sad to see it go," she said.
The pantry will continue to be open Thursdays and Saturdays from 7:30 to 11 a.m. and the pantry will also be open from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
