Mansfield's Our Daily Bread Food Pantry Needs Your Help!

It's the summer months, and everyone is hanging at the beach. But the demand for food donations and volunteers never stops at .

"Summer can be tough sometimes," says steering committee leader Dick Kelsay. "A lot of volunteers and donors are on vacation. But our clients keep coming every Saturday. We could use some help." 

Here are specific volunteer opportunities for Our Daily Bread: 
• Youth Group Leader. Thursday afternoons 3-4 p.m. on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Thursdays of the month. The pantry needs an adult to supervise a group of youths for Thursday afternoon prepacking of groceries. 
• Telephone/e-mail message coordinator - Check messages daily and forward them to the appropriate Steering Committee member for follow up. Messages can be accessed remotely. 
• Wednesday 9a.m. pick up of food staples from a facility at Myles Standish Industrial Park in Taunton. A bi-weekly commitment of 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Owning a truck is helpful, but not necessary. 
• Saturday Morning Distribution from 8:45 a.m. to 11 a.m.. Help clients with their grocery shopping. 
• Tuesday Morning Shelving - on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month from 9-10:30 a.m. to help restock the shelves.

If you're interested in helping, please call the pantry at 508-339-1343 and leave a message for volunteer coordinator Maria Smith. 

And if you are interested in donating food staples, the pantry can always use canned fruits and vegetables, proteins such as canned tuna and chicken, canned soups, pasta, spaghetti sauce and cereals. There are drop off boxes located around town, including at town hall, the library, post office, Stop and Shop and other locations. Or, you can deliver your donations directly to the pantry on Saturday afternoons between 3 and 4 p.m.