Belknap Democrats dedicate food drive to memory of Charlie St. Clair

BELMONT — The Belknap County Democratic Committee is hosting a food drive this weekend, dedicated to the memory of the late Charlie St. Clair, and his service to the community.

The public can drop off food at Belknap Marketplace, near Shaw's, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., on Saturday, Sept. 19.

“We could not think of a better way to honor Charlie than to come together and help our neighbors. This truly symbolizes Charlie’s spirit,” Johnna Davis, chair of the Belknap County Democratic Committee, said in a statement.

All donations will benefit the Community Action Program Food Pantry in downtown Laconia, which serves Belknap and Merrimack counties. June Garen, a member of the Belknap County Democratic Committee, said as shoppers enter Shaw's, they can pick up a printed shopping list with what food pantry organizers could use most this month.

The highest priority items are ingredients for meals, such as canned tuna, peanut butter, pasta, and pasta sauce, breakfast and school snacks like cereal, oatmeal packets, and granola bars, as well as bottled water. Garen said canned fruits and vegetables are not urgently needed, as the pantry regularly receives canned produce from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Garen said shoppers who would prefer to give cash instead of food donations can also do so. A Belknap County Democratic Committee volunteer will go to the food pantry and ask what they need, and purchase items on sale, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, loaves of bread, and frozen meat.

Garen said the manager of Shaw's has been a great help with the food drives. This month, he took the shopping list and put together a display of what's on sale, so shoppers can find items easily.

“He's a big supporter. He understands the need in the community, and he's trying to help people locally make sure that they have food,” Garen said.

Garen said through monthly food drives, they are also connecting people who need help. This month's is the seventh at the mall.

“It's been fascinating, because we started out doing these, knowing that we had food insecurity in our community. And what we've learned is that we had to fix our shopping list so that it had the access number for connecting with CAP to get services,” Garen said. “So, sometimes, we actually have people who are coming in. We had one guy coming in literally with a bag of change, a sandwich bag of change. And he said, 'I wish I could help you, but I don't have enough myself.'”

The food drive is also connecting people to the services they need.

“The last time I was doing a drop off, there was an elderly woman looking to get some help from the food shelf, because her SNAP benefits had been dropped to $12 a month, and she was trying to live on Social Security, and she felt very ashamed asking for help,” Garen said.

Garen said Belknap County Democratic Committee members sat down and went through the numbers, and found that in the month of February, 79% of people who accessed the food pantry were either below the age of 18, or over the age of 60.

“They definitely are not necessarily the working, able-bodied folks, but some of the working able-bodied folks are working for minimum wage that are using it. And their money just doesn't stretch far enough anymore,” Garen said.

Due to rising heating oil prices and continued cuts to SNAP benefits, “We’ll be there every month until we can get the problem fixed. Nobody should have to be hungry. It's not a political issue,” Garen said.

Garen said beloved St. Clair was in the community, regardless of his political affiliation.

“I think there are a lot of people, in Laconia, who may not have agreed with his politics, because he was a state representative and he was a Democratic representative. And it's interesting, because there are so many people who are grieving hard for him.”

Garen recalled a time she spoke to a woman who was gushing about how much St. Clair meant to her. She wanted a crosswalk near where she lived, and St. Clair worked hard with her to make it happen.

“It was just a connection that he made with people, because he was able to meet them on their level of what they needed,” Garen said.

“People were really struck by how much Charlie put his values into action. He's left a big space, big empty space.”