September 10, 2024 Newsletter
AUGUST UPDATE
In July, our volunteers provided 6,330 bags of nutritious food to a record of 995 unique members of 398 households. While the number of people we served hit a record, the number of orders each week is down. August averaged 280 orders per week vs. 296 in July and 295 in June. We are serving more households who request food less frequently. Our volunteers are truly helping their neighbors in need by providing the food they need, when they need it. 24.5% of our guests requested food only once or twice in August.
THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!
The Floor Looks Great!
All of our floors have been freshly painted, which brightens up the pantry and makes it easier to keep it clean. A big thanks to our weekend volunteers, Al, Bill, Judy, Kathie, Glen, Mark, Matt, Mike, Rich, Soren, Ted & Tom who, over multiple weekends, helped move & adjust shelving, clean the floors and paint it.
Vastly Improved Organization
The First Parish Newbury Food Pantry has a history of volunteers who saw a problem and volunteered to fix it. Tracey Cordy is our most recent example. Many of us found it hard to find what we needed amongst the clutter. While we noticed the problem, Tracey had a vision on how to make it better. Over several weekends and countless hours, Tracey built shelves with containers to organize all of our supplies. She also built mobile bagging tables which keep a supply of bags and other necessities close at hand. We can’t thank Tracey enough for her organizational skills, energy and enthusiasm.
PARTICIPATION IN GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK AND MASS GENERAL HOSPITAL WELLNESS STUDY
Our pantry has been selected to participate in their 2 yearlong Be Well research study aimed at better understanding how to support pantries in enhancing the healthfulness of food choices made by our guests. We will be implementing a traffic light labeling system to rank foods. Currently, the GBFB is color coding all items they provide as either Green for Healthiest, Yellow or Red for least healthy or white (not yet ranked). After the research team’s first site visit, we will begin to color code the background color of all items pictured in our ordering system as Green, Yellow, Red or White.). The study will provide us with materials to inform our guests about the benefits of using the food ranking system. They will also be interviewing a limited number of guests several times during the 2-year study. Guests will be compensated $50 if they are selected to be interviewed.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: MEET PAULA SABLE!
Meet Paula, a dedicated volunteer at Newbury Food Pantry. Her journey began during Covid-19, inspired to make a difference. One memorable moment for Paula was when her out-of-state family joined her in volunteering last winter, bonding over shared community service.
"I can't think of a better place to volunteer," Paula says. "The camaraderie among volunteers is incredible, and the impact we have on our neighbors' lives is profound."
Paula primarily serves as a shopper, ensuring pantry orders are filled with care. She also helps train new volunteers and marvels at the pantry's extensive services, including a pet food pantry.
Join Paula and our team! Email info@newburyfoodpantry.org to make a difference in our community today.
Thank you, Paula, for your dedication and compassion! Together, we're changing lives one order at a time.
FUNDRAISERS PAST & FUTURE
The Essex Ensemble Concert:
The concert at Maudslay Arts Center on Sunday August 25, to benefit the pantry, was a "great success" as expressed by Jane Merrow to the Daily News. Andrew Price, a Pantry volunteer and principal Oboe for the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra recruited and let the concert musicians. Approximately 180 lovers of music attended, raising over $6,000 which exceeded our expectations. We are truly grateful to all the attendees, volunteers, and the Arts Center for hosting this wonderful event.
Cruise Night in Newbury:
Cruise Night at Manter Field on August 16 was a great success in great part due to the homemade food provided by dedicated volunteers Allison and Brian Lehane of Newbury. Their effort helped to raise over $1300 for the pantry.
Next Vintage Vino Event to benefit the pantry is November 19, 2024:
You can register at: tom@vintagevino.org – please forward to family and friends!
Our Loretta fundraiser will be on Wednesday, September 11, 2024:
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 HUB
The First Parish Newbury Food Pantry congratulates Our Neighbors’ Table on the successful launch of the Seacoast Regional Food Hub in Salisbury. The Hub provides a local cross-dock for receiving orders from the Greater Boston Food Bank and, when fully functioning, will provide opportunities for pantries and meals programs to store cold and dry food as well as collaborate in the distribution of surplus food recovered from multiple sources.
Click here to LEARN MORE about their impressive contribution toward fulfilling our shared mission of creating a food-secure region.
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.
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.
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.