The St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry is using a grant from the New Hampshire Food Bank to purchase produce and meats from local farmers.

The food pantry, which is located in the Sacred Heart Church in Greenville but serves the surrounding towns, started the program last year, said pantry president Kevin Little. In three installments, the pantry received a total of $2,500 to spend on fruits, vegetables, meats and other farm-produced products such as yogurt.

This year, the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry applied for and received the same grant. The first installment is $1,500, about $1,000 of which has been spent so far, Little said.

Between last year and this year, the pantry has worked with Barrett Hill Farm in Mason, Rosaly’s Garden in Peterborough, Windy Hill Orchard in Greenville, Birchwood Orchard in Mason, White’s Farm Stand in Rindge, Sartell Farm in Temple, Old Homestead Farm in New Ipswich and Smith’s Blueberries in New Ipswich.

“We try to work with as many farmers as we can. It’s a win-win program,” Little said. “We’ll be doing more of it – buying squash and cucumbers and zucchini. A lot of healthy foods. I really want to promote people eating healthier.”

“People are very generous, and the people who use the pantry are very grateful,” said St. Vincent de Paul volunteer Marie Bradley.

Bradley, along with her daughter and two granddaughters and another St. Vincent de Paul volunteer, spent a recent Monday picking blueberries at Smith’s Blueberries in New Ipswich. Earlier in the summer, when berries were just coming in and scarcer picking, Smith’s owner Lorraine Rodier benefited from the grant funding, but she was donating this pick outright to the pantry, which she said she would do for the remainder of the season now that berries are more plentiful.

Donating to the local food pantries is a tradition that was started when her grandparents ran the farm, Rodier said. This is Rodier’s first year as the farm’s owner, after purchasing it from her family, and she said she wants to continue that tradition of supporting her home community.

“Community is very important here, and I want to be able to help the food pantry and my neighbors as much as I can,” Rodier said. “It’s part of the reason I bought the farm. Food security is a real issue.”

Bradley said she recognizes that food costs are on the rise, and fresh, healthy foods are often at a premium.

“It’s so expensive to buy these items in the store,” Bradley said. “Being able to go to the pantry, and get these fresh, healthy foods into their diet is so important.”

Bradley’s daughter, Amanda Guerin, said that’s especially true for families with children and the elderly, particularly those with fixed incomes.

St. Vincent de Paul volunteer Cathy Oczkowski agreed that costs in the supermarket are becoming increasingly prohibitive.

“There’s such a need out there, with the cost of everything going up and up, and it’s getting harder to survive and eat healthy,” Oczkowski said. “And eating healthy is the most-important thing.”

“I’m grateful the food bank offers this to us,” Little said. “It’s great for the farmers, and it’s great to give good food to people.”

The St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry currently serves over 15,000 meals per month. The pantry is most in need of soups, coffee, tea, crackers,jelly and bottled juice. Food donations can be dropped off at the pantry during operating hours or the Sacred Heart Church office.

The pantry is open every Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., or Monday through Friday by appointment. It is located behind the Sacred Heart Church at 15 High St. in Greenville. For an appointment, call 603-878-0518. Walk-ins are welcome.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.