July 9, 2024 Newsletter
June Update
June saw a 3.9% increase in the average number of households we served each week over May (295 per week vs. 284) with an average of 708 family members receiving healthy nutritional food at no cost each week. Our volunteers picked and packed an average of 1,326 bags per week, an 8.5% increase over May. Several factors account for the growth in the number of bags of food we provided. With the summer growing season in full swing, guests can select from a wider variety of locally grown fresh produce. Also, now that children are on summer vacation, families need additional food.
July is the start of a new fiscal year for the food pantry. In the 12 months ending June 30th, a total of 602 households requested food assistance. We filled 13,590 requests for food that provided meals for 32,587 people. Of the total number of people receiving food assistance, Adults comprised 46%, Children 21% and Seniors 33%.
Guests who pickup in the afternoon are able to select their own produce, including locally grown produce provided by Nourishing the North Shore.
Sue Little's Bookshelf and Book Donations
Sue Little, owner of Jabberwocky Book Store in Newburyport, donated a mobile book cart with brand new books for beginning readers, middle and high school kids. Each week, students may select one free book to keep. It comes with a bookmark that we created. If they like the book, they can write a brief review and Sue will type it up and put it with the book at the store. It should be exciting for the kids to see their first name in print.
Building Addition Update
The new addition is nearly ready for primetime. Walls are up, inside and out, the refrigeration system has been installed and should be operational by the end of the week. Next comes the shelving, and stocking the freezer and refrigerator, both of which are walk-ins. At the end of July or early August, we hope to have an Open House to celebrate and show off the expansion, so please stay tuned for the date.
Volunteers needed!
As our work has expanded to help more neighbors in our community, our need for volunteers has increased. We have teams of people working six days a week and could use your help, especially on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Jobs include calling our guests to take their orders, organizing orders in preparation for Friday, doubling paper bags used for packing orders, accepting food donations, unloading trucks, bagging groceries, loading cars, delivering food orders, stocking shelves, and more.
Important Note:
We are looking for volunteers who are bi-lingual in Spanish and/or Portuguese as we are seeing an influx of guests where English is not their first language.
Here is what our volunteers are saying:
"It’s a real pleasure to work in concert with such friendly, organized people. I loved the fast pace and the way the hours raced by."
"Such an awesome organization. So glad to be a part of this community effort."
"I really enjoy volunteering with you and everyone else at the pantry. It's such important work for the community and everyone is so welcoming and kind."
Come join us! Email Barbara at info@newburyfoodpantry.org to let her know you are interested.
Our Loretta fundraiser will be on Wednesday, July 10th.
Starting at 5 pm, Loretta will donate part of the proceeds to the Pantry. Plan on dinner out (take out or eat in). You'll see a lot of familiar faces as the community turns out to support our work. We suggest that you make reservations in advance.
Food Donations
We accept food donations every Thursday from 9:30 am -1 pm. If you are not able to drop off at that time, please contact us at info@newburyfoodpantry.org or call 978-358-1077 to arrange another time.
Our most requested items include Coffee, Tea, Flour, Sugar, Baking Mixes, Cereals, Pasta Sides, Jello and Pudding Mixes, Jelly, Broths, Soups, and Toilet Paper.