HYANNIS – The Cape Organization for Rights of the Disabled, or CORD, has launched its new mobile food pantry.
The organization unveiled its new delivery truck at a ceremony in Hyannis yesterday, which will be used to deliver food to people with disabilities from the Mid Cape to the Outer Cape.
“It’s not door-to-door. It’s not like Meals on Wheels and it’s not meant to take away service from other pantry’s,” said Coreen Brinckerhoff, the executive director of CORD. “It’s supplemental or complimentary to the services that are already out there.”
The trucks will make stops at disabled senior housing facilities and other areas to help clients who cannot make it to other pantries.
“There are over 15,000 people on the Cape, statistically, with disabilities or food insecurity and we are hoping to reach all of them,” Brinckerhoff said.
CORD hopes to soon expand the program to reach the Upper Cape communities with a fleet of three vehicles.
The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority donated one of its old vehicles to CORD to use for its new mobile pantry program.
“They invested some of their resources into making it really, really nice and had to go through the permitting process with various towns which I think is a challenge,” said Tom Cahir, the CCRTA administrator. “They’ve dressed it up and it’s very bright and it’s a really good cause to have a mobile opportunity to get what folks need who can’t access this stuff.”
Cahir said able bodied individuals can take for granted how tough it is for those have trouble getting out and completing everyday tasks.
“Now we have this beautiful opportunity for this vehicle to go around from town to town and to allow people to get the nutrition and things that they need,” Cahir said.
Brinckerhoff said the organization can always use more volunteers to help out with the new program.
“We need people to drive the bus and you don’t have to have a special license to do that,” she said.
The food, which comes from the Greater Boston Food Bank, is loaded onto the bus at the Family Pantry of Cape Cod in Harwich and then is driven back to Hyannis to get ready to be delivered to the different communities.
“We also take in food donations here at the office at CORD, or money because we can stretch a dollar far at the food bank,” Brinckerhoff said. “So any sorts of donations or volunteer help are greatly appreciated.”
To register to be a client of the mobile pantry or to volunteer call 508-775-8300.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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