A line of cars greeted WooSox coach Rich Gedman as he tried to enter the parking lot outside the wellness center on the campus of Worcester State University.
Each car represented a family waiting in line for a drive-thru food drive sponsored by Ocean State Job Lot, the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation and the Worcester Red Sox on Thursday.
“When I came here there were already 100 cars or more lined up onto Chandler Street,” Gedman said. “We’re an hour and a half, hour and 45 minutes into this and it’s a constant flow.”
David Sarlitto, the executive director of the Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation said that more the 500 cars were expected to drive through the food drive on Thursday, the second the WooSox helped organize.
Ocean State Job Lot had been organizing with the Pawtucket Red Sox in Rhode Island. With the organization set to move to Worcester in a matter of months, Ocean State Job Lot continued the collaboration north up Route 146.
“We thought, they’re going to have a presence in Worcester, why would we would not [follow]?” Sarlitto said.
The drive-thru events in Pawtucket totaled more than 1,000 cars, Sarlitto said. The event Thursday was only the second hosted by the WooSox. Sarlitto said he expects the numbers to increase as more folks become aware of the food drive every Thursday at Worcester State.
“It’s new here,” Sarlitto said. “Every week it gets to be more.”
The boxes of food provided will last families a week to 10 days, Sarlitto said. A large portion of the food came from the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation as well as Ocean State Job Lot.
Along with the WooSox, Polar Beverages and the Worcester Railers also participated.
Some 📸 from our weekly volunteering at the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation Inc. food box distribution site!...
Posted by Worcester Railers HC onThursday, January 14, 2021
“You can’t count on food banks to do everything,” Sarlitto said. “They do a wonderful job but they can’t do everything. You need other players.”
Ocean State Job Lot sponsors two food programs: Three square meals and Pallets to Pantries.
Through the two programs, Sarlitto said demand has only increased during the pandemic.
“People are really, really feeling the pressure right now,” Sarlitto said. “People are coming through these lines that have never been in a line before. They don’t know. And they are so thankful.”
People can register for the food drives from Mass Military Support Foundation through the organization’s website at www.mmsfi.org.
The event at Worcester State every Thursday represents just one of many events offered by the foundation.
“When you really think about it, the people who are doing it, the people from Polar, Ocean State Job Lot and all the volunteers that are out here,” Gedman said. “They ask me because I played in the major leagues, these people are the ones who are down to earth and are with the people day in and day out.”
Events like the food drive on Thursday bring Gedman back to his childhood. He remembered waiting in lines as a child for food in Worcester.
The WooSox coach understands how helpful the meals can be.
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“I had a wonderful life here, a wonderful life growing up here,” Gedman said. “But I think having that makes it really special. So it’s easy for me when someone asks for a little bit of help to say ‘No problem. How long do you need me for.’”
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