Around Town: Need even greater for help in soup kitchens, donations

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on August 22, 2008

With food programs at the Amherst Survival Center seeing a sharp increase in use, residents are being reminded of opportunities to donate food, money and time to those less fortunate.

Director Cheryl Zoll said the center had typically been serving 700 people, but that this number has risen to 1,000 people this year. The soup kitchen, which serves hot lunches weekdays, except Wednesdays, from noon to 1 p.m., has seen a 40 percent increase in clients, while use of the pantry, which offers a 50-pound bag of groceries for families of four once a month, is up by 30 percent, she said.

Rising gas and food prices may have a lot to do with the increase. "That's forcing people to look for help wherever they can get it," Zoll said.

The impact on families has caused the center, located in North Amherst, to add specific programs for families, which take place on the first and third Mondays from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Those times include a hot supper for the families and activities for children.

For those looking to donate, Zoll said canned foods, such as peanut butter and jelly, and soup, are ideal.

In terms of money, each dollar donated can be translated into $20 worth of food from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

Zoll said the center is also looking for volunteers, either to help during the regular 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours or to just spend 90 minutes cooking meals.

The next big fundraising event will be the annual Trash to Treasures sale Sept. 12 and 13 on the Town Common. Zoll said that between 6 percent and 8 percent of the center's annual budget comes from the event.

Select Board member Diana Stein noted the increase in clients at Monday's Select Board meeting, after she attended a volunteer appreciation picnic, and reminded residents about the opportunities for helping out at the Survival Center and Not Bread Alone. Not Bread Alone is a soup kitchen located at First Congregational Church. It serves meals Wednesdays and on weekends.

Amherst's future

If town officials are examining what kind of town they would like Amherst to be, Bill Elsasser, a resident of Ann Whalen Apartments, said they should look at the California communities of La Jolla and Davis.

Elsasser this week offered to pay for plane tickets for Town Manager Larry Shaffer and his wife to fly to California to see those cities.

La Jolla, Elsasser said, is a well-to-do resort community near San Diego, while Davis is a middle class college town in the northern part of the state.

Elsasser said he believes such a trip could help with the planning process, and that those communities could serve as models for where Amherst could go in terms of commercial and residential development.

"The distinction is utterly clear," Elsasser said.

Shaffer politely declined Elsasser's offer.

Bicycle support

Former Select Board member Rob Kusner is asking the board to reaffirm its support for bicyclists and bicycling as a mode of transportation.

Kusner said he will come before the board in the coming weeks requesting a formal statement that might include mandating that all bicycle lanes be clearly marked and regularly painted.