NEWS RELEASE
February 21, 2025
Contact: Sandra Galvin
wellfleetpantry@gmail.com
774/722-3753
WELLFLEET, MA— Ace Handyman in Eastham, MA is providing vital assistance to the Wellfleet Food Pantry by constructing and installing steps and a new, ADA compliant ramp for smoother access to the Pantry’s temporary trailer. The Handyman is donating a significant portion of the labor cost involved in the construction and, at 40 feet long with landings, building the ramp is no small matter.
“The Food Pantry is a critical need for residents of Wellfleet, and it is our pleasure to be able to assist in this way. Many residents of Wellfleet rely on us for handyman services, and this is just one more way Ace Handyman can help,” said Don Andersen, General Manager, Ace Handyman Services.
Darin Krum, owner of Eastham Ace Hardware and Ace Handyman, added, “We’ve taken this on in the spirit of community. The Pantry needed a hand and luckily, we had what they needed. We’re delighted it all worked out.”
Because the Pantry serves the grocery shopping public, it must be ADA compliant – accessible to shoppers who use walkers and wheelchairs, or who may have a stroller or a shopping cart to move groceries. After moving into its new rented trailer at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Wellfleet, the Pantry discovered that the ramp supplied with the trailer was much too expensive, awkward to use and, worst of all, non ADA-compliant. Over 200 food-insecure families in Wellfleet rely on the Pantry for groceries, and maintaining legally compliant access was critical.
The food—each load including 3700 pounds of fresh, frozen, boxed and refrigerated fruits, vegetables, meats and pantry staples– is shipped on food-laden pallets from the Greater Boston Food Bank via The Family Pantry of Cape Cod in Harwich. When it arrives in Wellfleet, Pantry volunteers haul every box up the ramp and into the trailer. The new ramp will be constructed to facilitate unloading the deliveries directly to the top of the ramp, greatly easing the burden for Pantry volunteers.
As she surveyed the work underway this week, Wellfleet Food Pantry Board President Sandy Galvin commented, “This will be such an improvement for us and our shoppers. The ramp has been a challenge from Day One. It is an unusual project on a narrow time frame, and Ace Handyman’s flexibility and generosity in setting us up for access is a wonderful gift.”
About the Wellfleet Food Pantry.
The Wellfleet Food Pantry is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that has been serving the community since 1999. Providing nutritious food, fish, meats, personal care and household items, it functions as a mini grocery store for residents who need assistance to help ease financial burdens in difficult times. Affiliated with the Lower Cape Outreach Council, and staffed entirely by volunteers, the Pantry relies solely on community support and donations to ensure that those families and individuals can put food on their tables. For more information log on to www.wellfleetfoodpantry.org.