Interfaith Social Services planning to expand capacity

Changes needed to accommodate growth in Food Pantry and Counseling Center

Interfaith Social Services, the South Shore’s multiservice center for families in need, recently held an Open House to kick off their 2018 Capital Campaign. The organization has plans to make adjustments to their facilities to accommodate the growing need for services.

Interfaith, located at 105 Adams St., Quincy, operates one of the largest emergency food programs in Greater Boston as well as a mental health counseling center and homelessness prevention program. Interfaith’s programs are a safety net for thousands of children and families from the South Shore who are struggling to make ends meet.

In the past decade, Interfaith has seen the number of food pantry clients in need of food assistance climb from 10,000 per year to more than 23,000. In the same time period, the New Directions Counseling Center has gone from providing 1,900 counseling sessions to more than 2,500 sessions per year. As programs have expanded, the need for facility improvements has become apparent.

Plans for the expansion include the installation of an energy-efficient walk-in freezer, the purchase of a food rescue vehicle with increased hauling capacity, creation of more office space for mental health counseling and facilities improvements.

During the Sept. 27 Open House, attendees were able to meet staff and board members, learn about the organization’s programs and tour the facilities. Visitors were introduced to the Capital Campaign plans, which include:

• A Walk-In Freezer – an energy-efficient walk-in freezer would replace the set of aging and inefficient freezers, cutting energy bills and doubling storage space for frozen meats and foods.
• A New Food Pantry Truck – a larger capacity truck with a freezer insert would increase the amount of food the organization could rescue at local grocery stores and decrease the number of trips made, saving time and gas.
• Office Reconfiguration – counseling offices would be soundproofed and moved to avoid distractions from the food pantry. Two larger offices would be divided to create more unique spaces for therapy sessions.
• Facilities Improvements – flooring would be replaced in high traffic areas, light fixtures would be switched out with energy efficient fixtures, and adjustments would be made to the lobby to improve accessibility and flow.

“These changes will significantly impact our clients and volunteers,” said Rick Doane, Interfaith’s Executive Director. “Interfaith is a hub for our community. Every week, over one hundred volunteers and nearly a thousand clients and supporters come through our doors. We need these improvements to accommodate that volume of people. We will be able to rescue more food – diverting it to hungry peoples’ plates instead of going to a landfill. We’ll be able to serve more clients and conduct more counseling sessions. But we can’t accomplish this goal without the community’s help. We hope that a groundswell of donations will help to finance these projects.”

For more information about donating:

The organization hopes to raise $175,000 by the end of the year to fund the changes. For more information, or to make a monetary donation, visit www.InterfaithSocialServices.org.