NEWS RELEASE
Wellfleet Food Pantry Approved to Negotiate Lease for ACC Location
Phase 2 of Capital Campaign to Begin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2025
Contact: Sandra Galvin
wellfleetpantry@gmail.com
774/722-3753
WELLFLEET, MA— At its meeting on July 8 the Wellfleet Selectboard voted to accept the Wellfleet Food Pantry’s proposal for a long-term lease of town-owned land at the Adult Community Center, and to direct the Town Administrator to negotiate the terms of the lease. The final lease will be brought back to the Selectboard for approval.
The Selectboard’s vote in support at last night’s meeting was unanimous, minus one recusal. Although the terms of the lease remain to be negotiated, Pantry Board Chair Sandy Galvin said, “We are thrilled that the Selectboard has agreed to lease us this property. Its location next to the ACC, with the Council on Aging and the Community Garden, makes it ideal for us and our shoppers. We look forward to finalizing the terms of the lease.”
The Pantry is ready to undertake Phase 2 of its capital campaign to raise funds for the construction of a new, permanent building. At the end of Phase 1, which was initiated last winter, the Pantry had raised over $600,000. This put the building fund a bit more than halfway to its total goal. The estimated cost of a permanent pantry structure that meets all relevant commercial building codes is between $800,000 and $1,000,000.
Erik Spencer, chair of the Pantry’s Fundraising Committee, expressed confidence in the group’s ability to raise the funds. “The Wellfleet community, including local businesses, year-rounders, part-time residents and visitors, has always been generous to those who need a hand. We will also reach out to a broad range of foundations and other donors who help fight food insecurity.”
Having outgrown its previous location at Grace Chapel, the Pantry moved last December into a temporary rented office trailer in the parking lot of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Route 6 in Wellfleet. The facilities are basic and expensive, but pantry volunteers and shoppers alike have adjusted to the change. “We remain deeply grateful to our Lady of Lourdes for the opportunity to share their parking lot,” Galvin said, “and we hope the new lease will be the beginning of the transition to our first ever permanent home.”
Food insecurity has increased in Wellfleet over the years. In 2014 the Pantry served 127 families, in 2020 it was 165 and that number has now risen to 220. Twice a month, Mid-Cape Home Centers volunteers a truck and driver to pick up 3700 pounds of food delivered to The Family Pantry in Harwich from the Greater Boston Food Bank, to bring to Wellfleet. Shelves are quickly depleted between deliveries.
Contributions to the Wellfleet Food Pantry’s Building Fund will be gladly accepted.
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, fresh produce, 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.
