SOUTH HADLEY — Never go hungry.

It’s the one rule that must not be broken at Neighbors Helping Neighbors, the organization that over the last 14 years has helped thousands of people from South Hadley and surrounding towns keep food on the table during times of need.

And in 2024, that need is greater than ever thanks to a confluence of issues ranging from inflation to the expiration of pandemic relief funds, says Executive Director Mary Lou Guarnera.

“That money to help people through the pandemic is gone, and we’re left with rising inflation,” Guarnera said. “So we get more people coming to the pantry. More and more and more.”

One of those regular customers is resident Lisa Foley, who says she visits food banks and foods pantries each week to supplement her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Foley’s diabetes limits her diet to low-sugar foods that are much higher in price that traditional breads and starches. Combined with inflated grocery prices, her food stamps disappear within a week.

“I go to as many, even outdoor, food banks for fruits and vegetables because that’s the most expensive,” Foley said.

Foley began visiting Neighbors Helping Neighbors, the community-driven food pantry located at the United Methodist Church, four years ago when her mother could no longer drive to the pantry herself. She picks up food for herself and her mother. For a while, the pantry even let her bring food to her two aunts in Holyoke, despite them living outside of the pantry’s typical service area.

“I love coming here! They give you a paper telling you what they have, (and) you mark off with what they allow you to get for families. So you know, it does help out,” she said.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors has seen more families like Foley’s visiting the food pantry. Only in the past few months, the most frequent visitors of the pantry at the United Methodist Church switched from seniors to families with young children.

Last year alone, Neighbors Helping Neighbors handed out nearly 250,000 pounds to 19,000 people who visited the food pantry and other individuals through a plethora of programs. This is a drastic jump from 2021, when the pantry gave out 151,000 pounds of food to 7,000 people. But rather than buckling under the demand, Guarnera embraces the uptick in visitors, excited when people walk away with more than 100 pounds of food for the week and help the pantry follow its “never go hungry” mantra.

“Food is a very important piece of life. Because the body without food can’t work, learn or play,” Guarnera said. “You got kids in school with no food, they can’t learn. And you want them to learn because they’re going to be stepping into positions where we need them to know what they’re doing. So we got to feed them.”

Neighbors Helping Neighbors began in 2010, when the United Methodist Church on Carew Street set out to undertake a new community project and learned that the biggest need for residents in South Hadley was food. When the church group realized it would take nearly a year to set up the pantry, a small group of members began to operate a pantry using extra shelves at Big Y in 2011. Its grown into its own operation with new programs added as the need for food security increases.

While most customers are from South Hadley, the organization has begun to bring food to surrounding towns. The pantry puts packages together for veterans, supplements the brown bags at the Council on Aging for seniors to pick up, hands out snacks at the high school, hosts a month satellite pantry in Chicopee and compiles backpacks full of groceries for middle school students in Granby.

“Don’t wait until you’ve eaten all the bread and there’s nothing left. Don’t eat popcorn all weekend and then come tell us there’s no food. That’s not what we want. We want you to come and get it so you actually have adequate nutrition,” Guarnera said.

The pantry tries to supplement as much of a family’s grocery bill as possible by offering a wide selection of fresh and canned foods, as well as household goods, personal care items and pet supplies. Neighbors Helping Neighbors is a client choice food pantry, which allows people to chose the food they want from a menu of options.

“It also saves waste because I give you green beans and you don’t eat green beans, so what are you going to do with that,” Guranera said.

The pantry’s 50 volunteers are the backbone to the organization’s success. Volunteer Sue Lesniak prepares delivery orders for seniors and mothers without cars on Tuesdays. She packs brown paper bags with about 15 pounds of food, which is then delivered by drivers to residents. While she doesn’t interact with customers directly, Lesniak loves the environment and knowing her hard work give back to others.

“It’s a really nice place. I feel good coming here every week. And Mary Lou is so appreciative. Every week she tells us thank you, you’re doing so much to help,” she said.

Besides the clientele, community support for Neighbors Helping Neighbors has grown exponentially. Cumberland Farms and ALDI in Chicopee donate excess food the stores are unable to sell, resulting in 16,000 pounds of food saved and sent to South Hadley families. The town of South Haldey and the South Hadley Chamber of Commerce offer financial support to the pantry.

Local businesses and individuals also donate thousands of pounds of food each year. Just earlier this month, Hampshire Towing partnered with Whiskey Barrel to collect 579 pounds of food in under three hours.

“This community is absolutely amazing in their support. They bring food, they bring money. It’s such a blessing to have that kind of support and buy in,” Guaranera said.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors is open for pickup every Wednesday from 12:30 to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.