May 14, 2025 Newsletter
APRIL UPDATE
We are finding that the increasing number of delivery requests is a challenge. Deliveries in November through January averaged 184 per week; in the last 3 months, they averaged 199. The increase in deliveries requires several more drivers, which has been challenging. We now offer Saturday pickups to encourage more people to pick up their orders. We have also expanded the number of items that people who pick up can select from. We continue to stock wire racks in the parking lot with one-of-a-kind items (i.e., items we have in too small quantities to put on our grocery list) available to those who pick up their groceries. Starting in April, large cold beverages have been dropped from our menu and are now available only for guests who are picking up their order. This change has the added benefit of reducing the weight and number of bags that our drivers deliver.
We are now in our 5th month of participating in the Wellness Study sponsored by the Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Hospital. This two-year-long study will provide a better understanding of how to support pantries in enhancing the healthfulness of food choices made by our guests. Items low in Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Added Sugars have a green background. Items with a red background contain high levels of the three items and should be chosen rarely. Non-food items and some unranked foods have a white background. On May 16th and May 30th, the study group will be interviewing several randomly selected guests who are picking up their order to help determine to what extent the color-coding system is impacting their choice of healthier foods.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT : OUR SCHEDULERS
Karen Barry (left) and Kathie Williamson (right)
Hats off to our schedulers who make sure that every Friday we have a full complement of volunteers for Pantry Day – that is 92 volunteers every Friday, working in shifts starting at 6 am and finishing at 5:30 pm. Schedulers also recruit from our core group of 227 active volunteers to fill regular positions on Thursdays and help ensure that we have the right volunteers on site to handle food drives, food bank deliveries, unloading and stocking surplus goods received from local markets and even planting grass around our new building addition.
Because we use an online tool (SignUp) for volunteers to schedule themselves, the scheduler's job is one of filling gaps, which means a lot of phone calls or texts and regular supportive communication with volunteers. It takes good people skills, incredible organization, and a strong commitment to getting the job done. We are so very lucky to have Kathie and Karen filling the scheduler role on alternate weeks. And both report that they enjoy getting to know other volunteers and their task preferences.
Kathie and Karen also volunteer on-site most Fridays and take on various local pickups, including bread from Shaw's and fruit, milk, and egg purchases from Market Basket. Thank you, Kathie and Karen!
FUNDRAISERS PAST & FUTURE, DRIVES AND DONATIONS
Lions Club Food Drive
The bi-annual Lions Club Food Drive was held on Saturday, May 3, at Newburyport's Market Basket. Forty-one of the Lions Club's young up-and-coming members, called LEOS, worked the event. They packed $20 bags of groceries to be purchased by customers on the go. This effort resulted in the largest ever collection of food for the pantry at 2,855 lbs, plus checks and gift cards totaling $800.
A big thanks goes to Sue Coppinger, the LEOS coordinator, AND our volunteer organizer of Thursday donation staffing. Also, thank you to the community for all their support and donations, and to Market Basket for donating the filled grocery bags that were left over from the event. Also, thank you to the pantry volunteers who received, unloaded, and re-stocked the pantry with the items.
Lindt Chocolate
We are so grateful to Patty Noyes from Lindt (top left photo below) for the huge donation of candy this Easter. Our volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure all the gift bags were full and ready to give out to every one of our guests on the Friday before Easter. Lindt has been a steadfast donor of chocolate treats year over year, and we have received at least 1,000 lbs just over the past 2 months. Thank you, Patty, from all of us here at the pantry.
Asset Builder Award
Kendall Bowie (second from left below) runs our school food pantry program for all nine area schools as a First Parish Newbury Food Pantry volunteer. She is a recipient of this year's 2025 Asset Builder Award. The Asset Builder Awards are a great opportunity to publicly acknowledge youth, adults, and organizations throughout Newburyport who support young people.
Congratulations Kendall!
Triton School Girls' Tennis
The Triton School Girls' Tennis team recently held a food drive to benefit the pantry. Their efforts brought in 272 lbs of food. Thank you, Team, for your efforts; we so appreciate it!!!
Newbury Elementary School (NES) PTA
Last Friday, a surprise delivery of prepared food from the teacher's appreciation event at the NES was delivered to us for handing out to our guests as they picked up their weekly orders. Thank you, NES PTA!!
Newbury Garden Club
Also, last Friday, the Newbury Garden Club donated potted plants for us to give out to Newbury seniors as they came to pick up their orders. What a nice surprise for them! Thank you to Garden Club members for your thoughtful donation.
Dry Well Construction
The Dry Well was extended on May 3 by the back-breaking efforts of Charlie Forrestal, Glen Holt, Arthur Friedman, Mike Anderson, and Jonah Greenblatt, a St. John's Prep student who helped us last summer and will again this year. Great work, guys!!!
IMPORTANT...SAVE THE DATE!!
Come one, come all...
To Our 10-year Anniversary Celebration
Open House Sunday, June 8
Newbury Food Pantry
20 High Road, Newbury
1:00-3:00PM
Activities, Raffle, Food, Refreshments, and Music will be provided.
LORETTA FUNDRAISER
Wednesday, May 14, 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.
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.