Good Shepherd Parish is determined to make sure no one goes hungry on the Island, and with its Food Baskets-MV program, they’re taking steps to help Islanders keep hunger at bay.
Good Shepherd’s program is multi-tentacled, and headed by director Joe Capobianco and assistant director Mardi Moran. It started by providing weekend backpacks of food to kids at the Oak Bluffs School and MVRHS. At Oak Bluffs School, they work weekly with Assistant Principal Helen Hall, and on an as-needed basis with Inez Montanile, who is in charge of attendance at the high school. Additionally, every Friday the truck rolls up to the Boys and Girls Club with as many as 100 weekend backpacks.
“This original program kind of got bigger because there was more need,” Capobianco said. They also deliver food to Community Services, and provide food to the Wampanoag Women’s Center in Aquinnah, a program administered by Jennifer Randolf. There’s also a food distribution at Good Shepherd Parish once a month. To make sure nothing goes to waste, whenever they have extra, they deliver it to all the libraries and senior centers.
The numbers are impressive, and indicate the need on the Island. From the beginning of January through the end of July of this year, the program served 5,112 individuals, of whom 2,638 were children. On average the program fills 161 backpacks per month — each with enough for three meals for each day of the weekend. They might contain such goods as mac and cheese, shelf-stable milk, cereal, raisins, spaghetti sauce, pasta, soups, canned chicken and tuna fish. They also delivered an impressive 1,188 boxes filled with fruit and produce during this period, averaging 155 boxes per month.
Capobianco goes off every Monday morning on the 6 am ferry to collect the week’s bounty, and returns on the noon boat. He’s been running the program since its inception in 2016, and originally started out with a small pickup truck; now he requires a box truck. Capabianco explains that with the growing demand, they have been able to secure a grant from the Greater Boston Food Bank to buy an 8-foot by 12-foot outdoor cooler for all their produce, thus allowing them even greater capacity to store more food and serve increasing numbers of people. He’s also looking forward to the cooler, because at Thanksgiving they’ll now be able to give away turkeys with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a bag of potatoes.
And how do they pay for all of this? Well, the Food Bank provides a lot of it for free, but they do buy some goods with funds from the Diocese of Fall River, Vineyard Haven Golf Club, and Good Shepherd parishioners, who also, along with some local folks, help out with the monthly distribution at the parish.
Everyone is welcome at the monthly Food Baskets-MV held at Good Shepherd Parish. Capobianco reassures, “We don’t ask questions, so we don’t know who ‘typically’ comes. All we need to know is their ZIP code and how many people in their household. We don’t ask questions. If they’re coming, they need. There are no questions, and they don’t have to bring documents.
“Every year we get bigger and bigger, and we’re able to support more households on the Vineyard. We tell people to buy healthy food, and they can’t afford it. We’re able to provide them with healthy vegetables, protein, and fruit, which is all good stuff.”
Food Baskets-MV will be held at Good Shepherd Parish, 55 School St., across from the Oak Bluffs Town Hall, on Oct. 22, Nov. 12, and Dec. 17. You can find additional information and future dates on Food Baskets-MV’s Facebook page.
