Birthday wish come true: Kimberly Blake opens food pantry outside her Gardner home

Editor's Note: On Tuesday morning, the city of Gardner issued a cease and desist letter for The Giving Greenhouse.

Local full-time mother and former candidate for mayor Kimberly Blake had a birthday wish to open a small food pantry outside her Gardner home, and her family helped make that wish come true.

The small food pantry, which Blake calls "The Giving Greenhouse," is at 25 Baker St. in Gardner, open from sunrise to sunset daily. Non-perishable food like canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, jugs of water, or hygiene items like toothpaste kits, diapers, and more can be donated to or taken from Blake's small pantry.

When her family and friends asked Blake what she wanted for her birthday, she said she already had everything she needed and wanted, so they should give back to the community. Blake said she was inspired by other small pantries in neighboring towns like Athol, so all she needed was a structure and donations to make her birthday wish come true.

"There's really no rules at this pantry. I'm not going to limit how many times people need to use the pantries and no questions are asked," she said. "I'm not interested in your financial background or what you're going through. I'm just here to help."

Blake said she has collected donations of non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, infant and adult diapers, and water jugs, but the food pantry still needs more. She said if donations are not enough, she plans to use her own money to keep the pantry stocked at all times.

People who want to donate can contact Blake on her Facebook page to tell her when they will drop off donations.

Food pantries feel the pressure of increased food insecurity

Blake said she noticed the rise in food insecurity in the Greater Gardner community and wanted to help alleviate some pressure off the large local food pantries and diaper pantries.

The number of residents who struggle to make ends meet and keep up with the cost of inflation has grown in the past year.

Ginny's Helping Hand, an organization that supports low-income individuals and families, is a food pantry and thrift store in Leominster that helps over 3,000 North Central residents monthly.

Brandon Robbins, executive director of the food pantry, said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry helped over 1,000 residents, but it has tripled ever since. He said people come from all over North Central Massachusetts, primarily from Gardner, Fitchburg and Leominster.

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Robbins said that the nonprofit accepts food and monetary donations from local grocery stores and the Worcester County Food Bank.

"We are not struggling to keep up with demand, but it becomes more and more of a challenge to keep a stockpile," he said. "Food and other items are going out as fast as we bring them in."

How this little pantry is different

Blake's family bought her a greenhouse kit for her birthday, which she built herself and is the food pantry structure. She said she used the greenhouse because it's like a closet with a flap door, so people can't really tell who is inside.

She said she has security cameras on her property, and the footage reaches the pantry, but no one but herself sees it.

"I'm on a busy street and many people are very much embarrassed to have to ask for help," she said. "They can step inside of it and then close the flap behind them. Nobody can see who it is in there."

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Former Gardner MA mayor candidate opens food pantry at home