March 11, 2025 Newsletter
FEBRUARY UPDATE
It looks like Spring is finally here, much to the delight of our hardy volunteer loaders and drivers who have worked outside in cold, windy and often icy weather conditions. In January, they loaded an average of 687 bags of food into cars and vans every Friday and delivered the those bags to almost 200 households. The growth in food deliveries has put a strain on our ability to handle so many deliveries. We are now offering Saturday pickup and asking our guests who can, to look for options to pick up their food. Hopefully the warmer weather will enable more guests to pick up their orders on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.
In February, we provided food assistance to an average of 312 households each week (1,251 total requests), providing food for a total of 3,003 household members. 30% of our guests were seniors and 20% were children.
Due to widespread community support from individuals, businesses and our school food recovery efforts, we received 14,049 pounds of donated food. These generous donations provided 32% of the food that was available for our guests to order. We also received 60% of our food through the Greater Boston Food Bank, and we purchased 8% from local businesses. As a result of the variety of food that we receive, our guests are able to order what they need, choosing from over 350 items on our on-line ordering system.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT : OUR DEDICATED DELIVERY DRIVERS
We have a wonderful, dedicated team of delivery drivers who come every Friday and fill their own cars or the van with bags of groceries ordered by our guests. They make deliveries to those guests who have no transportation or are physically unable to come to the pantry. They become the "Face of the Pantry" to each of the 200+ guests they deliver to each week.
Getting to know each household and being able to offer a friendly hello and smile as they carry bags of groceries to their doors, brings great joy to each guest. The drivers reap the benefits of the many “Thank You’s” as guests express their gratitude for all that the pantry offers.
Each driver serves a specific geographic area, delivering to Salisbury, Newburyport, Newbury, Rowley, Ipswich, and Georgetown. They spend about 1- 2 hours completing their routes and often may make 2 trips, depending on the number of bags to be delivered that week. The drivers' routes are mapped out and each driver is given their weekly assignment by Dave Spellman, who also makes sure each vehicle is loaded with the properly labeled bags. All the drivers expressed how much they enjoy driving each week. They all have big smiles on their faces as they talk about their guests.
And here they are...
Row 1: Marsha Boundy & Richard Lodge, Joe Carper, Bill Andreas, Nancy Webster & Nancy MacDougall
Row 2: Jim Dennis, Andrew Simpson, David & Donna Damon, Diana Pear
Row 3: Bruce MacDougall, Trae Dupuis, John Pear, Carol Larocque
Row 4: Dave Spellman, Bob McInerney, Steve Kenney
FUNDRAISERS PAST & FUTURE, DRIVES AND DONATIONS
Fundraisers
In January
Vintage Vino's wine-themed dinner on January 15 raised $1,800 going directly to the food pantry.
Comedy Night @ The Grog on January 17 raised $620 also in support of the food pantry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In March
On March 27, Vintage Vino is hosting another great evening of wine and food celebrating Rioja, Gran Reserva. All proceeds go to the pantry. Get your tickets now before they sell out by emailing TOM@VINTAGEVINO.ORG.
Drives & Donation
Central Congregational Church held a Pet Food Drive that brought us 318 lbs for food for our pet loving guests.
The Student council at Newbury Elementary School led by teacher Sarah Byrnes organized a personal care products drive. The students from every grade donated over 500 lbs of products, as seen below.
LORETTA FUNDRAISER
Wednesday, March 12, 2025 starting at 5PM
Our Loretta fundraiser continues… Wednesday, March 12. 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.
A RECENT COMMENT FROM ONE OF OUR GUESTS
"Thank you for all you do. My life and health has improved because of the First Parish Newbury Food Pantry".
OUR NEIGHBOR’S TABLE (ONT)
Our Neighbors’ Table’s Seacoast Regional Food HUB in Salisbury provides a local cross-dock for receiving deliveries from the Greater Boston Food Bank.
As the second largest pantry serving the Seacoast, the First Parish Newbury Food Pantry benefits by the use of the HUB providing the ability to:
pick-up GBFB deliveries locally at the HUB
rent the large trucks for food pickups at other GBFB cross-docks
receive two additional food deliveries a month from the GBFB
Having this resource has allowed local programs to serve even more at-risk households more efficiently.
We are looking forward to the next steps, which will include collaboration in the receipt and distribution of surplus food recovered from multiple sources.
To learn more about Our Neighbors’ Table and this impressive contribution toward fulfilling our shared mission of creating a food-secure region, click here: https://www.ourneighborstable.org/50.html
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
As our work has expanded to help more neighbors in our community, our need for volunteers has increased. Volunteer opportunities include calling our guests to take their orders on Wednesday, staffing four shifts throughout the day on Friday to fulfill grocery orders for our guests, and assisting in the occasional Food Drive or other special projects on Saturdays.
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.
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.