Mobile Foodshare Truck Fills a Need in South Windsor

The Mobile Foodshare truck, which started making its biweekly stop in South Windsor in early July by serving about 40 people, now serves about 100 at its site at the Wapping Community Church.

It’s growth that is at once encouraging and disheartening, according to Mary K. Blocklin, a Wapping Community Church member who, along with Karen Gale, coordinates the program at the 1790 Ellington Road location.

On Thursday, some 50 people were already waiting in line for fresh produce and other items - this week it was blueberries, carrots, onions, sweet tea, tomatoes and frozen yogurt - before the truck had even arrived.

“My feeling is that anybody could be in this line,” Blocklin said. “You could have lost your job or be in the service industry and tips aren’t as good. It’s a good thing to have here for everybody.”

And Blocklin does mean everybody. While technically 60 percent of those who utilize the truck should have incomes within 233 percent of the poverty line, Blocklin said that they rarely check.

“It’s on the honor system - we don’t have vouchers,” Blocklin said. Instead, people are just required to bring a bag of their own and fill it with whatever is available at the truck.

To make it all work, the Foodshare truck is truly a community effort, with some 50 or so volunteers that rotate to help out, along with five or so students from the Project Worth Young Adult Academy in South Windsor.

Sue Mazur, a paraprofessional in the South Windsor school system who works with Project Worth students, said that the kids act as runners, helping patrons move their full bags to their vehicles.

“They’re doing a great job,” Mazur said of the students.

The Mobile Foodshare truck is in South Windsor every other Thursday from 12:30 to 1 p.m.  Upcoming distribution dates are the following: Sept. 27, Oct. 11 and 25, Nov. 8 and Dec. 6 and 20. While those dates are set, Blocklin added that the truck will be making its stops year-round.

For more information, contact Blocklin at 860-291-8181, Gale at 860-219-0962 or Foodshare at 860-286-9999.