Hunger A Hidden Problem on Cape Cod

July 08, 2026

by Erez Ben-Akiva

Volunteer Priscilla Ward adds rice to a client’s grocery bag. The Family Pantry stocks brown rice because it’s more nutritious, and white rice because it’s a cultural staple for many. ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO

HARWICH – Hunger hides on Cape Cod; among the beaches, the cottages, the seafood restaurants, the shops on Main Streets, it’s just not a problem that manifests into something with clear visual indicators.

But out of sight shouldn’t mean food insecurity here is out of mind. That’s, of course, where The Family Pantry of Cape Cod and the Summertime Helping Neighbors campaign comes in.

“People are always surprised that I work at The Family Pantry,” said Melissa Masi, the organization’s program manager. “They say, ‘Well, who needs a food pantry on Cape Cod?’ And I think they're shocked when I tell them some weeks we have up to 800 families that use the pantry.”

A number like that speaks for itself, yet there’s many more. In 2025, the pantry saw 37,568 visits, good for a total of 3.4 million meals (4.1 million pounds of food in 164,600 bags, a value of $8.1 million) distributed to 13,293 distinct people. Also last year, the pantry registered 3,421 new individuals, representing 1,548 families.

While the pantry is based in Harwich, those figures cover the whole peninsula. Even in tony Chatham, 7,037 bags of food were distributed to 434 individuals (221 families) in 2025 (The other Lower Cape statistics: 15,699 bags to 1,069 individuals — 552 families — in Harwich; 7,558 bags to 461 individuals — 243 families — in Brewster; and 4,560 bags to 258 individuals — 154 families — in Orleans).

“I think that the summertime visitors would be very surprised,” said Masi, a Chatham resident. “It takes a lot for the town to house, entertain, feed all the visitors that come to Chatham. But behind the scenes doing the food prep, cleaning your room, vacuuming, turnovers for your rental properties, it takes an army, and those people need to be fed and taken care of because they're here year-round.”

Many of the pantry’s clients work multiple jobs within this summer tourism ecosystem. And still, they’re struggling to put food on the table. The housing situation in the region, obviously, doesn’t help.

The pantry at 133 Queen Anne Rd. stays open until 7 p.m. — by far its latest hours of the week — on Thursdays so people can run over after work. On Saturday mornings, according to Masi, the pantry becomes busy with mothers who have worked all week, that being the only time they can come in and get food for their families.

“We are here for the ‘behind the scenes’ people who really support the communities, but we need to support them,” Masi said.

To contribute to The Chronicle's Summertime Helping Neighbors campaign, visit ww.CapeCodChronicle.com and click the blue Helping Neighbors logo on the right. You can also mail a tax-deductible contribution to The Family Pantry, 133 Queen Anne Rd., Harwich, MA 02645, or call 508-432-6519 to donate by credit card.