Falmouth service center shows partners how pantry runs, warns storm exposed communication gaps

Christine Sullivan, deputy director of the Town of Falmouth service center, led housing, Red Cross and other partners on a site tour and emergency-preparedness briefing on April 23, focusing on how the pantry operates, where its food comes from and how partners might coordinate more effectively during future storms.

The visit came after a snowstorm this spring that left internet and many voice-over-IP phone lines down, forcing staff to switch to prepacked bags and drive-through distribution. "We weigh all the food coming in the door and all the food going out the door," Sullivan said during the tour, noting that "2025 was over a million pounds of food" distributed through the pantry and related outreach.

Why it matters: the pantry and its partners provide critical food and material assistance to vulnerable residents, and organizers said strained communications and faster inventory turnover leave less buffer ahead of extreme-weather events. Karen Delaney, the service center's executive director, said the pandemic-era shift in volume means the pantry now moves food much more quickly: "We now serve about 550 households a week," she said, up from roughly…