GARDNER — About 250,000 diapers have been donated to low-income families since the opening of the diaper pantry in May 2014 at Care Central VNA & Hospice. 

Diaper need is a problem that thousands of low-income families and first-time parents have to face across the country. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, the average infant needs 10 diapers a day and the monthly cost for diapers is about $80 per baby. In Gardner, low-income families may not have the access and resources to purchase enough diapers to last them the whole month. 

Kareen Culkeen, the healthy families program director at the Care Central VNA & Hospice's Gardner branch, explains the obstacles that these low-income and first-time parents have to face to keep their baby clean, dry, and healthy. 

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"We opened up because we learned through our work with young families that diaper need is very real in our area. In order to buy diapers, you need cash and families can't get them with food stamps or WIC," Culkeen said. "If they don't have transportation, which is another big challenge in this region, they're not able to go to a place like BJs and buy the big box of diapers where they are much less per diaper."

"It's a complicated whole cycle of 'I don't have enough money to buy diapers which means I don't have enough diapers for my kid to go to daycare so that means I can't go to work or school,'" Culkeen said. "It just makes things even harder for many families who are diaper insecure and just need a little help." 

The pantry is a very welcoming place for anyone who is diaper insecure. Any parent can qualify for program if they show the baby's birth certificate when arriving at the pantry. Each family is able to get 30 diapers each month and other items such as baby food and gently used baby clothes and toys.

"The mission of our pantry is that we don't ask a lot of questions and we serve the youngest members of our community," Culkeen said. "We don't ask for any proof of anything beyond 'Do you have a baby?'"

The pantry does not have a budget because all diapers distributed and other baby essential items are donated by individual community members or local non-profit organizations.

"The Women's Circle of Giving donated items and money to buy diapers a couple of times in the past six years," Culkeen said. "Local organizations give us either money or they buy boxes of diapers and bring them to the pantry themselves." 

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Culkeen said she has dozens of community members donate gently use baby toys, baby clothes, also left over diapers of all sizes.  

"Some of our donations come from families who bought a big box of diapers and then next week their baby has outgrown them, so instead of throwing them away, they give those to us," Culkeen said.

The diaper pantry is located at 34 Pearly Lane and is open every Thursday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the organization is always looking for volunteers and donations. 

For more information, visit the center's website at carecentralvnahospice.org

Care Central VNA & Hospice has created 12 different programs with the focus to build healthy communities through serving quality healthcare to 92 different communities in western and central Massachusetts.