Wellfleet food pantry secures 99-year lease for permanent facility

The Wellfleet Food Pantry has done more than secure land. With a 99-year lease at $1 a month, the volunteer-run operation now has the kind of long-term control that lets a small food pantry plan staffing, fundraising, equipment, and workflow around a permanent home instead of a temporary fix.

The lease, approved by the Wellfleet Select Board on May 5, covers 715A Old Kings Highway in Wellfleet. The pantry said it needs to raise $1.5 million over the next two years to build a larger facility, and it is already researching freezers, refrigerators, solar panels, lighting, and other necessities for the new building. For a pantry that serves more than 200 families, or more than 380 individuals, that level of certainty changes the job from emergency improvisation to operational planning.

The pantry has served the community since 1999 and operates like a mini grocery store for residents who need help stretching their budgets. It is affiliated with the Lower Cape Outreach Council and is staffed entirely by volunteers, which makes the site question especially important. A permanent facility can improve receiving, sorting, cold storage, shopper flow, and volunteer staging in ways that matter every day, not just during a capital campaign.

The new lease also follows a long period of uncertainty about where the pantry would land. In September 2024, the pantry said it had outgrown its space and would need to vacate its then-home by December 2024. It moved on December 9, 2024, into a temporary trailer at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Route 6 after leaving Grace Chapel on Lieutenant Island Road. Earlier town discussions included a 5-0 Select Board vote on May 21, 2024, to pursue the viability of a pantry on the grounds of the Wellfleet Adult Community Center, a postponed June 27, 2024 contract discussion for temporary modular space there, and a special town meeting warrant that considered the former South Wellfleet Fire Station as another possible site.

The need remains immediate. One pantry update said a Mid-Cape Home Center truck delivers 3,700 pounds of food twice a month, and shelves are quickly depleted. Another update put the cost of a permanent structure that meets commercial building codes at between $800,000 and $1 million, while describing the building fund as a bit more than halfway to its goal. For A Simple Gesture and other neighborhood food-recovery groups, Wellfleet’s result is a reminder that long-term site control is not a side issue. It is the infrastructure that makes volunteer work, donor confidence, and broader community reach sustainable.