The non-profit Westport Food Pantry has greatly increased its public hours, and area residents who need food assistance now have the option of ‘shopping’ for it in person.

It’s been two Mondays since pantry officials opened ‘in-person’ shopping in the basement of the Grange Hall at 931 Main Road, where they have distributed food in a drive-up model for years.

While drive-up clients are served from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Mondays, the new model runs from noon to 6 p.m., quadrupling the pantry’s open hours each week.

“We hope it fills a need,” operations director Cindy Wilson said Monday morning, walking through the basement shop and directing volunteers as they brought up food for the drive-ins.

“What we’re hoping to do is capture those people who aren’t able or don’t want to sit in the line from 8:30 to 10:30,” she said. “We’re hoping to make it more accessible to people, because the line can take a while.”

What’s on the menu?

The new model aims to not only give clients more options and control over what they bring home, but also to reach more school families in Westport, where more than a third of students come from low income families.

Family schedules can be tight and Wilson hopes giving parents the ability to shop after they pick the kids up from school will help reach more of them — pantry officials sent flyers to local schools publicizing the new model over the past month or so.

Those who opt for in-person shopping are welcome to walk through the brightly lit basement ‘store,’ taking up to 15 items per weekly visit. Though the stock changes constantly, there are always staples and there was plenty to choose from Monday — canned goods, peanut butter, pasta, sauces, meats, fresh and frozen vegetables, cereal and a lot more.

Basement shopping had been on the wish list for some time but the building needed work to make it happen.

Last Spring, heavy rains flooded the basement and Grange officials started looking for, and ended up securing, grant funds to install a french drain and reconfigure the entryway. That work is now complete and has made all the difference, Wilson said, as it not only makes accessing the basement easier for the public, but also eases volunteers’ work unloading 6,000 pounds of food the pantry takes in twice a month, mostly from the Food Bank of Greater Boston and Aldi’s.

The effort was also greatly aided by an anonymous donor who last year gave the pantry funds to build a shed at the organization’s vegetable garden on Drift Road, and also donated funds that allowed for the purchase and installation of a large walk-in cooler, which is now in place.

In its first running last week, 48 walk-in customers were served while about 150 opted for the traditional drive-up model. Wilson said she looks forward to serving more people in the basement — the need is certainly there, she said.

“It would be scary to be an older person and not know if you’re going to be able to make all your bills, and have to choose whether you’re going to be able to eat or pay your bills,” she said. “We see a lot of variety — there are a lot of older people, there are a lot of unexpectedly single parents, there are people who have lost their jobs, a lot of medical issues. We just want to help as many who need food, get food, as we can.”