On April 4, the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) opened its first ever food pantry at 3450 DeKalb Ave. Though an official ribbon cutting ceremony is slated for April 24, the pantry has already begun serving the surrounding community.

Residents looking for assistance need not worry about income or location requirements. Although intended to serve Norwood’s low-income residents, all are welcome, Lenora Sealey, director of Support Services at MMCC, explained. Residents can receive a set number of items depending on the number of family members they are providing for. The pantry will be open on the first and last Saturdays of each month, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 5 p.m.

MMCC opened in 1942 amid the devastation of WWII. As servicemen fought overseas, a group of eight women in the once Jewish neighborhood sought to provide child care, teen, and senior services. Eventually, a 30,000 square foot home was built on DeKalb Avenue and East Gun Hill Road. MMCC’s social service approach worked to create stability in Norwood. The center has since expanded to at least 20 schools and several other building sites.

The pantry’s location within MMCC is a boon said Sealey. “People go in [to the center] for a variety of reasons. People go in to get their taxes done, so people feel like there’s less stigma,” she said.

Councilman Andrew Cohen, representing the district where MMCC’s flagship center resides, allocated $15,000 to get the pantry opened. For now, nonperishable foods will be offered for the first three months. The initial funding has been used to renovate and stock the pantry for this time, but inventory will be refilled through monetary and charitable donations.

Cohen emphasized the importance of keeping funding for the pantry coming in, citing the high use of such services.

“I think that [the pantries] are highly utilized. There’s no doubt that the word is out at POTS (Part of the Solution), a neighboring pantry. I’ve seen lines at a number of food pantries throughout the district,” said Cohen. “I think that we need more funding. If we fund these programs, they will come.”

The US Census estimates 33 percent of Norwood residents are living below the federal poverty line.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.