June 10, 2026 Newsletter
VOLUNTEERS SPOTLIGHT
Meet our Thursday Prep People
When online ordering closes at noon on Thursday, a rotating team of three people begins the task of processing over 300 orders. They print, separate, and organize them by delivery route or pickup time, making them easy to retrieve for volunteers on Friday and Saturday. Additionally, they print essential reports that help Pantry volunteers manage the workflow:
A summary of the number of deliveries scheduled for each of the 20 routes, which is used by the delivery coordinator to adjust staffing based on the volume of orders for each route.
A list of each guest on every route, sorted in delivery route order, along with their contact information. This is used by the expediter to ensure that all orders for a route are complete.
Delivery directions and contact information for each guest on every route, which drivers use during their deliveries.
A list of guests scheduled for pickup on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, ordered by pickup time, including their contact details. This helps the parking coordinator direct cars to the correct lane and allows the expediter to confirm order completion.
In addition to these reports, the team prints tags that include each guest’s name along with their delivery route or pickup time. On Friday, every bag for every guest is tagged to prevent the orders from getting mixed up. The number of tags printed for each guest is based on how many bags of groceries they have ordered in previous weeks.
A second crew of three, led by Helena, comes in after the tags are printed to combine the current week's tags with any leftover tags from prior weeks. They then organize and file these tags by delivery route and alphabetically for pickups. This is done because guests often call to change their pickup times, making it quicker to retrieve tags in alphabetical order on Friday rather than by pickup time.
These processes have evolved and improved since the introduction of online ordering in March 2020. As the number of guests has increased, we have streamlined the processes and continue to refine our methods, ensuring that volunteer roles are fulfilling and that guests receive their groceries within the expected timeframe.
Our Thursday Prep Volunteers
Thank you so much for all that you do to keep us running efficiently!!
Pictured here, upper left: Mary Ann, Tim, and Franni; upper right: Terry, Cecile, and Kathie; bottom left: Sara, Paula and Karen. Bottom right: Clare and Helena Not pictured is Mary.
MONTHLY UPDATE
In looking at the numbers this month, the one thing that stands out is the generosity of our community. In total the community donated an amazing 27,191 pounds of food, which was 42% of the food we distributed. There were two large food drives that stood out. The Lions Club contributed 3,573 lbs. and the Post Offices 2,124.
The breadth of community support helping to address food insecurity in the 7 communities we serve is inspiring. We received donations on Thursdays or items purchased from Amazon from 61 individuals in May. Businesses donated 8,819 lbs. of food. Our volunteers visit businesses every day as well as schools on Friday afternoon to recover food that might otherwise be wasted. Many organizations, Councils on Aging, Schools, Churches, Libraries, Yankee Homecoming, Post Offices and the Lions Club made significant donations. We also receive fresh vegetables every week from Nourishing the North Shore.
In May, we served an average of 313 households each week with 720 individuals and provided them with 1,394 bags of nourishing food. Our volunteers also delivered an average of 195 orders each week to households who have transportation issues.
THE FARMERS’ MARKET
The Farmers' Market is coming soon, so please stay tuned for the opening date announcement.
MONTHLY LORETTA FUNDRAISER
Our Loretta fundraiser continues… Wednesday, June 10, 2026. 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.
You can also drop off donations in the lobby of the Newbury Police Department 24 hours/day.
Our most requested items include Coffee, Tea, Flour, Sugar, Baking Mixes, Cereals, Jello and Pudding Mixes, Jelly, Canned Ham, Spam, Broths, and Toilet Paper.