December 9, 2025 Newsletter
NOVEMBER UPDATE
November was yet another record setting month despite being open only 3 Fridays. We were closed the Friday after Thanksgiving, and on Friday the 21st we filled food assistance requests for 373 families with 901 family members. We averaged 363 requests per week in November vs. 330 in October and served an average of 875 family members vs. 786 in October, which were 9.5% and 11.3% increases.
Despite picking, packing and delivering an average of 24.5% more bags per week than October, our awesome volunteers rose to the occasion and made it seem like just another busy day at the pantry. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a motivated and generous volunteer team who can take challenges in stride and enjoy one another’s company while working their shift.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Steve and Maria Chanin
Maria’s passion for fighting food insecurity started years ago, from running school food drives in Connecticut to helping lead a “Souper Bowl Superhero” drive that filled church pews with donations during the pandemic. Today, she calls our senior guests every Wednesday to help them place their orders, supports our School Pantry Program across nine local schools, and even covers the pantry phone line. One of her favorite moments? Weekly calls with a vibrant 96-year-old who hosts neighborhood coffee gatherings and always sends Maria home with a sweet treat.
Steve, a retired Continuous Improvement expert, stepped in after his wife encouraged him to try volunteering. Since then, he has helped streamline key processes at the Pantry and now oversees breads and desserts each week. He’s seen firsthand how deeply this work matters — from parents brought to tears because Pantry food carried their families through difficult times, to guests overwhelmed with gratitude.
Both Steve and Maria share a deep appreciation for the spirit of this place: volunteers of all ages showing up with commitment, enthusiasm, and heart. As Steve says, “You are making a big difference in people’s lives.”
THANKSGIVING, FOOD DRIVES AND HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER
Thanksgiving is a time to express our gratitude and this year we are especially grateful for the incredible outpouring of cash and food donations leading up to Thanksgiving. Concerns about the impact of the government shutdown and impending cuts in SNAP food benefits inspired many of our generous neighbors to reach out and ask, "How can I help". Since January, food donations from individuals, businesses and food drives averaged 34.7% of the food we distribute each month. In October, it grew to 45.8% and in November donations were 51.9% of the food our volunteers distributed. In November, we recorded a 150% increase in cash donations over the same period in 2024 and an eye-popping 367+ food donations, a testament to the generosity of our community and their concern for their less fortunate neighbors. We are truly blessed and humbled by the concern shown by this amazing outpouring of support. The actual total number of donations was well over 450 as we received 3,746 pounds of food that donors ordered through the Amazon Wish List link on our website. Amazon consolidated multiple donations in a box so we can only estimate the total number of donations.
We also want to shout out our thanks to Helena Ripley who quietly compiles the donations behind the scenes in a spreadsheet every month. It is a tedious task to read everyone's handwriting and she does a commendable job that deserves calling out. Thank you for your dedication and hard work Helena.
FOOD DRIVES
There are still many food drives continuing throughout the month of December, and the results of those will be reported in next month's Newsletter. In the meantime, we can report that the Triton Community Service Club's "Stuff the Bus" collection donated 799 pounds of food prior to Thanksgiving.
HOLIDAY GIFT WRAPPING FUNDRAISER
This holiday season Henry Bear's Park toy store in the Tannery will again be hosting a holiday gift wrapping fundraiser, and just like last year Pantry volunteers will be there to assist.
Please stop in to say hi, or sign up to wrap with us at giftwrappingsignup.
All proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly to the Pantry.
LORETTA FUNDRAISER
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 starting at 5PM
Our Loretta fundraiser continues… Wednesday, December 10, 2025. 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.
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.