Several Newtown Lions Club members spent the afternoon of Friday, August 23, sorting through the latest donations received from Amazon to later distribute across different local and surrounding food pantries.

Everyone met at the house of Newtown Lions Club member and Hunger Committee Co-Chair Arnie Berman to sort through boxes filled with items donated by Amazon. Each box had a label describing the type of items inside, such as Food + Drinks, Household, Stationery Supplies, Personal Care, and more.

After sifting through everything, the Lions divide the donations and share them between FAITH Food Pantry and Hospitality Hall Pantry in Newtown, Daily Bread Food Pantry in Danbury, and Bridgeport Rescue Mission in Bridgeport. Additionally, any pet food they receive goes to Newtown Animal Control Shelter.

According to Newtown Lions Club member and Hunger Committee Co-Chair Bruce Walczak, these boxes of donations are set aside by Amazon and packed onto skids to be picked up by Lions Club District 23, which includes 16 Lions Clubs.

“There’s a tractor trailer from Amazon, and you’ll see what’s in them to give you a feeling of what they put together,” Walczak said. “And then the 16 Lions Clubs, or as many that want to participate, go and pick up the boxes.”

After a Newtown Lions Club member went to pick up their share of boxes earlier that day, they and their fellow members spread out the boxes onto the floor and tables inside Berman’s garage. From there, it was time for the Lions to sift through everything and see which item could go where.

This particular load of donations was filled with packs of food and drinks, including soda bottles, granola bars, coffee, oatmeal cups, cereal, pasta, peanut butter, and more. As for non-food items, there were paint brushes, socks, and toys included in the delivery.

This trip is far from the first time the Lions have received donations from Amazon.

“We’re getting one of these about once every three weeks, at least certainly once a month,” Walczak said.

According to Berman, the reason these items get donated to the Lions in the first place is because they are deemed to be “unsaleable” by Amazon. He said Amazon can be particular about what items get shipped, and the company has very specific guidelines about how items are supposed to be delivered.

An example he showed was a box the Lions received that day filled with small Pringles containers. While all of the containers should be perfectly lined up, inside this particular box, several of them were tossed over to the side. It is because of potential issues like that, or others such as dents or tears in packaging, that Amazon might consider these products to be unsaleable and send these back to the original provider.

“So in a sense, while they’re doing something that’s very good for the world by allowing us Lions to distribute it, we’re helping take product off their hands that they don’t want to throw away,” Berman said, “They don’t want to dispose of it. They don’t want to inventory it. They view it as unsaleable, because they want to have consistent product quality with what they send out there.”

To Berman and the others, they are just incredibly happy that these donations can go to the food pantries and support people in the community who need the support.

Seeing Food Insecurity Firsthand

Gary Peters is not only a member of Newtown Lions Club, he is also very much involved with volunteering at Bridgeport Rescue Mission (BRM), which provides services to men, women, and children facing hunger, homelessness, and addiction.

Peters says he helps people in need with building and infrastructure, serving meals, among other services at the mission. He has recently gotten back into the routine of serving meals twice a week to the people of the greater community at BRM’s food pantry.

Peters says he has seen firsthand just how many people suffer from food insecurity, which is defined as when someone lacks access to enough food to lead an active, healthy life. People who are food insecure might not know where their next meal comes from, and may have to decide between paying the bills or their next meal.

According to Connecticut Foodshare, “estimates from Feeding America indicate that more than 465,000 (1 in 8) Connecticut residents struggle with hunger; more than 112,000 (1 in 6) children are food insecure.” BRM reports that 16% of people in Bridgeport live beneath the poverty line.

Peters says hundreds of people get served at BRM’s food pantry, and that the number of people who line up for it has increased throughout the summer. Some, he says, wait hours for a meal.

“Bridgeport Rescue Mission doesn’t just provide food either, it’s all these other things that people could use to survive,” Peters said. “It’s diapers, household cleaning supplies, and all sorts of items that [Bridgeport Rescue Mission] widely accepts.”

‘Here For Everyone’

Much like BRM, FAITH Food Pantry relies solely on community donations. FAITH President Lee Paulsen said “every week, we’re getting at least five new families.”

“Thank God we’re getting the food, but we have so much need here [in Newtown]. We have single mothers, we have older people who can’t afford food, it’s scary,” Paulsen said. “I’ll be honest, I’m very, very concerned for all the people in the community who need our help.”

She encourages any Newtown residents who do need help with food assistance to reach out to FAITH. They they are more than ready to help, she promised.

“We’ve given people weeks worth of food, including meat, fresh vegetables, toilet paper, everything. And some of them cry as they leave, and that’s a real tearjerker, it’s heartbreaking,” Paulsen said. “But we have to do what we can to take care of our own. And we’re here for everyone.”

The Newtown Lions are always taking volunteers and are happy to have more people help support the local and surrounding community.

For more information on the Lions and their future endeavors, visit newtownlions.org.

To learn more about FAITH Food Pantry, visit newtownfoodpantry.org or call 203-837-0816. To learn more about Bridgeport Rescue Mission, visit bridgeportrescuemission.org or call 203-333-4087.

=====

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.