One cruiser wasn’t enough: The Westbrook Council of Beaches (COB) annual Stuff a Cruiser food drive l;ast month brought in more food than ever before: 1,766 pounds of non-perishable items and several thousand dollars in donations.

Not only did the volunteers fill up Resident Trooper Ben Borelli’s cruiser, but several other vehicles were filled to capacity, according to COB President Pat Macarelli.

The drive is organized every year by the COB’s Alleviating Hunger Committee, chaired by Tony Cozza. Food and cash donations are delivered to St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church on McVeagh Road, the site of Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries (SSKP) local pantry.

“Usually we get between 400 and 500 pounds” of food, Cozza said. This year, in additional to bags of food, “people were opening their [car] windows and handing us 5s, 10s, 20s, and in a couple of cases, 50s,” as well as checks.

According to Cozza, one Westbrook resident, Mike Rottblatt, saw what they were doing, drove off to Stop & Shop, and returned with 400 pounds of food.

About a dozen COB members and other residents volunteered for the event, Macarelli said.

The St. Mark’s pantry is open every Tuesday from 1 to 2:45 p.m. for people to pick up groceries at no charge.

“Normally in Westbrook we would have around 100 families come through every Tuesday” for groceries, said Bob Eburg, manager of the Westbrook pantry.

Since the pandemic began, the number of families peaked at 299—the pantry provided those families with more than 10,000 pounds of food.

It’s since tapered down. In a week in mid-July, 193 families came through (8,335 pounds of food).

“I’m assuming some people are starting to go back to work, so our numbers have lessened,” he said.

Usually the shopping takes place in the church hall. Shoppers come through with grocery carts and choose what they need. Now, with COVID-19 in mind, Eburg and his volunteers have moved to a drive-through outdoor pantry with prebagged items, including non-perishables, produce, and meat, butter, and eggs, depending on what’s available, he explained.

“We put [the bags] on a table, they drive up, we step back, and they get out their cars and pick them up,” he said.

“I’m overworking my volunteers for sure,” he continued. “It takes a lot of more time to do it this way than our old way. I’ve had to add extra shifts to get the bags done in time.”

Eburg and volunteers have masks on at all times, and that includes getting the bags ready and setting up the tables.

“Ninety-nine percent of the customers have masks on,” he said, adding that contact is limited as much as possible.

Usually, Eburg has 25 to 30 volunteers, but many are older and have had to wait the pandemic out.

“I’m one of the youngest there,” he said, “and I’m 69.

“The majority of older volunteers did opt out, mostly because their kids told them to,” he said.

He has now divided the work up into four shifts and has only eight volunteers in at a time.

SSKP Executive Director Amy Hollis explained that need has increased all along the Shoreline.

“We’re now running about 50 percent more than normal,” she said. “We moved 750,000 pounds of food in the first six months of the year,” which includes the months before the pandemic began. “It’s an incredible amount of food that was moved and shared with those in need.”

Food drives like Westbrook’s Stuff a Cruiser make a difference, Hollis said.

“Everyone does so much in our community to make sure there’s access for everyone who is in need,” she said. “We’re not in this alone and we’re very, very grateful for the support.”

For more information about Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries, visit shorelinesoupkitchens.org.