ATHOL – As it continues to carry out its commitment to service, the Salvation Army of Athol provided Easter dinner to men who are participating in the Residence Program at the Athol Area YMCA this past Sunday. But while the meal was provided to help celebrate a special day, it was part of the service organization’s ongoing effort to feed those in need in Athol.
Major Nancy Townsend told the Athol Daily News that the Salvation Army decided to take action when it learned about the program at the Y.
“We found that they don’t have access to meals, to food, on weekends,” said Townsend. “So, we took it upon ourselves – in response to the COVID thing – to make sure they had breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Saturday and Sunday.
“We have Lisa (Richards),” she said, “she’s quite the cook, and Dan (Parsons), and they work out a menu. It’s been a hot breakfast although on Easter Sunday it was a cold breakfast. Sometimes it’s an egg sandwich, and they’ve done pancakes sometimes. And we bring a brown bag lunch when we bring breakfast. Suppertime is usually a hot meal.
“We cannot go inside. We have to leave it, and someone from the Y comes out and gets it and makes sure the men get it. We were just very concerned about people being fed.”
The Residence Program provides 20 rooms for residents and a single room for an emergency situation. Townsend said an attempt was also made to reach out to Athol’s homeless, but with not much success.
“We were also concerned about homeless people who are not at the Y,” Townsend said. “I understand there are some tent villages around our area. We’re still trying to track them down because they’re secluded so well. We tried to make sure they had food for the weekend, but we’ve not had any success in tracking them down. We just want to make sure people are okay and taken care of.”
Townsend said in addition to the weekend program, the Salvation Army continues to give out food baskets between 9 a.m. and noon on Tuesday and Friday. With the advent of the pandemic, said the major, each basket contains enough food for about seven or eight meals. She said 500 baskets have been distributed in the last month, “and that’s only Athol.”
“We get most of our food from the Worcester County Food Bank,” she said. “The Social Service Ministry Assistant Ann Stevens handles our connection with them.”
In addition, the Salvation Army serves an evening meal, said Townsend, “And we also do a grocery giveaway.”
“Market Basket and Hannaford give us fresh produce and items that have to be given out right away. And we do the giveaway Tuesday when people come down and sit, and we serve a meal. Obviously, in this situation we’re doing a takeout. So, we have a volunteer cook and volunteers passing the meals out.”
Townsend said 80 meals are prepared each Tuesday.
“I would love to say we need more volunteers because we almost always do,” said Townsend, “but we are not committed at this time to accepting new volunteers because of the nature of the times.”
An Ohio native, Townsend said she came out of retirement in October to relocate from her home in New Jersey to direct the Athol unit of the Salvation Army.
“There was a need here,” she said. “So, I came to Athol and I’m so happy to be here. I love it so much I told them I would stay another year if they need me to stay another year. Then I’ll think about retiring again.
“This is a wonderful community,” she said, with unbridled enthusiasm. “The people are terrific here. My congregation — they’re wonderful people and I love them so much. The community has captivated me as well. I love how they’ve come together. The community has stepped forward to help each other, and they’ve wanted to know what they can do for us, as we try to help other people. It’s just a wonderful thing.”