PROVINCETOWN — In recent years, Provincetown has seen a substantial rise in demand for food assistance, and this year the trend continues with several organizations working to meet the need.
AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod (ASGCC) provides a daily lunch program and nonperishable food pantry for its clients. Senior case manager Bill Furdon says the number of people seeking that help has risen as the cost of gas, groceries, and other essentials strains paychecks and Social Security payments, making it harder to put food on the table.
“People get squeezed tighter and tighter,” Furdon says, “especially in the off-season.”
The Soup Kitchen in Provincetown (SKIP), whose season-opening day was chronicled in the Independent two weeks ago, is the town’s go-to community dining hall in the off-season. SKIP provides daily lunches, no questions asked, to all who visit from November through April.
Board chair Philip Franchini says that since the season started, there has been only one day that SKIP served fewer than 200 meals — that’s about 50 more meals than last year’s average.
In addition to ASGCC and SKIP, several other organizations and programs provide a range of solutions, from produce to prepared meals.
PROVINCETOWN
Food Pantries
AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod
Year-round food pantry for clients of ASGCC.
96 Bradford St.
508-487-9445
Crop Swap at the Provincetown Public Library
Free fresh produce available for all, no questions asked.
356 Commercial St.
508-487-7094
Council on Aging
Nonperishables, personal care, and household products available for pickup and delivery. Open to all.
2 Mayflower St.
508-487-7080
Healthy Meals in Motion Mobile Food Pantry (Family Pantry of Cape Cod)
Open to income-eligible residents age 60+ and families with children. Registration required by phone.
508-487-7080
Helping Our Women
Pantry with nonperishable foods and personal care products open to all. Call or stop in to make an appointment.
34 Conwell St.
508-487-4357
Lower Cape Outreach Provincetown Food Pantry
Food pantry open to all on Weds.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
United Methodist Church, 20 Shank Painter Rd.
508-487-4925
Unitarian Universalist Meeting House
24-hour nonperishable pantry in front of church, open to all.
236 Commercial St.
508-487-9344
Meals
AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod
Lunches for clients available for delivery or pickup, Mon.-Fri., year-round.
96 Bradford St.
508-487-9445
Soup Kitchen in Provincetown (SKIP)
Lunch, open to all, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri. through April.
United Methodist Church, 20 Shank Painter Rd.
508-487-8331
Meals on Wheels
Meal delivery for homebound residents age 60+.
Call Council on Aging 508-487-7080 or Elder Services of Cape Cod 508-394-4630 to register
