Christopher Seufert photo
By John Pappalardo
At the risk of embarrassing her, I’m taking the opportunity to celebrate and thank Chris Menard, the executive director of the Family Pantry of Cape Cod, as she steps away from her amazing community service.
Chris has run the family pantry in Harwich since 2016, with a remarkable combination of dedication, creativity, attention to detail, volunteer organization, and emphasis on community support. Her small paid staff is buttressed by more than 650 volunteers, making this the largest volunteer-driven organization on Cape Cod. They serve more than 3200 households per month, also acting as a distribution hub for The Greater Boston Food Bank so smaller pantries across the Cape receive food as well.
To a visitor it all seems to happen like clockwork, an intricate, interlocking dance of people and products. It has been Chris Menard, like a good clockmaker, who makes sure everything runs smoothly, in synch. That in part was due to her background and experience, having worked at Stop and Shop for more than two decades. But more so it has been about her commitment, and ability to translate a bigger vision into meticulous detail, nuts and bolts, walking the walk.
What all that means is thousands of people get good food, sometimes clothes or toys, and a sense of security. Many of these people work one or even two jobs, often seasonally, important contributors to the economy, but still can’t keep ends meeting in this expensive place called Cape Cod. Others are in deep crisis, unemployed or unemployable. Some speak English, some other languages. All of them get help, and respect. That is Chris’s way, a given.
We first got deeply involved with the pantry when we started Fish for Families in 2013. Our idea was to engage our fleet, identify species that are “undervalued” (translation: inexpensive) like mackerel, skate, dogfish, scup (even scallop bits, morsels nicked during shucking), and share this great local harvest with people who otherwise would not be able to eat good fish. It worked like a champ, and when Chris took over in 2016 it worked even better. We were able to distribute more than 50,000 pounds, packaged in small portions for families to enjoy. That translated into more than 130,000 meals.
One great part of that program was that local fishing boat captains, often the same people who caught the very fish being distributed, would come by and hand out portions, greet people, answer questions, share experiences. Everything became personal, and when that happens, as we know, stereotypes dispel. That’s another Chris Menard given.
When COVID struck, Chris and the pantry faced a huge challenge: People couldn’t congregate, couldn’t come and shop, yet the need was overwhelming. She responded with an amazingly fast pivot, reconfiguring the pantry so recipients stayed outside, placing orders at arm’s length through a newly installed window. Masked volunteers put together bags and boxes, streamlining service, dropping delivery times. The pantry kept honing and refining its system, and stayed open. When Chris came down with a serious case of COVID, she chafed at having to stay away, but nothing stopped.
At that same time our Fish for Families program morphed into “Small Boats Big Taste,” delivering chowders and stews instead of fillets. Again, not a beat missed. Thousands of containers, thousands of meals, have moved through the pantry and into our community.
Chris has been celebrated with various awards and accolades over time, all deserved, none solicited. On behalf of the Alliance, our board, our members, our staff, our community, I’d like to add our thanks.
John Pappalardo is CEO of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance