VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT - FOOD DRIVE VOLUNTEERS
From now through the first of the year the Pantry receives more food from local food drives than any other time of year. This community generosity is a huge help, providing holiday foods at a time when demand is at its highest. If you are a food drive organizer, you know how much work it is to collect and transport all that food: getting the updated “most needed” list from the Pantry, communicating the need and collection procedures to your club, neighborhood or community, assembling the food, scheduling a delivery date and then delivering it to the Pantry.
Here is what happens at the Pantry:
When the food is scheduled to arrive, we plan to have 2-5 volunteers at the Pantry to accept the donation. The volunteers help unload vehicles, check the expiration dates on any food that isn’t obviously brought directly from the grocery store, weigh and record the weight of the donated food and then shelve the food by placing it behind any items already on the shelf (this is so the food already on the shelves is the first to go out).
During the fall season this work goes on three and sometimes four times a week. This is in addition to the routine work our volunteers do to stock shelves, inventory items, prepare the list of food guests can order, take orders by phone, fold bags, prepare shopping lists and reports needed for distribution and then shop, bag, and load orders as well as delivering over half the orders. It is a very busy time, made all the more satisfying by knowing that the community supports our work so significantly.
We offer huge thanks to our volunteers for their hard work, to the food drive organizers for their initiative and follow through and to the community that so generously supports the food drives.
If you are thinking of organizing a food drive for the Pantry or would like to volunteer to help in receiving food drive donations, please email info@newburyfoodpantry.org or call 978-358-077 and our food drive coordinator will get back to you. And thank you!
Lions Club Food Drive
We are so grateful to the Newburyport Lions Club for once again running a very successful Food Drive for the pantry. They collected 2837 lbs. of food and a large sum of money at their drive on Oct. 17th. The drive was held in front of Newburyport Market Basket, and the Newburyport High School Leo's club assisted by packing $20 bags of food for shoppers to pick up during their shopping trip. Everything in the bags were most needed items requested by the pantry. Many thanks also to Market Basket for making all of this possible.
The Hancock Street Hangout Story
After two years of COVID, many of us had become social distancing hermits.
We had not yet had a chance to welcome all our new neighbors.
That all changed in the fall of 2022 when our neighbor James invited several of us over for a get together.
It was wonderful to be at a party again, and by the end of the evening we all agreed to sponsor a Neighborhood Block Party for the fall of 2023.
Then we went to work.
We reached out to local food, beer, and ice cream truck vendors.
We signed up local musicians to entertain.
We put up signs all around to invite our neighbors.
We organized games for kids and adults.
We all had fun, met neighbors, and made new friends!
All we asked from our neighbors in return was to bring a donation for the food pantry.
In later years we also set up a QR code on site for neighbors to donate directly by mobile phone.
After costs were met, all remaining income was donated to the pantry.
Through 4 years of “Hancock Street Hangout” events, we have donated 1,390 pounds of food and $ 5,490 to the Newbury Food Pantry.
And in the end, we were able to “Have Fun and Do Good” for others in need!
-Peter and Deb
MONTHLY UPDATE
In October, we continued to see an increase in the number of families seeking food assistance. We had 24 first time families using the pantry in October (7 more households than the 17 in August) with 56 new first-time family members. The average number of families using the food pantry per week has grown from 315 in August, to 323 last month and 346 per week in October. The average number of family members receiving assistance each week also rose from 704 in August to 722 in September and 775 In October. The total number of unique households who used the pantry in October was 472, up from 446 in September.
Our guests frequently comment about how friendly and welcoming our volunteers are. And despite the continuing growth in food requests, they always handle any unexpected challenges with humor, teamwork and a can-do attitude. We can't thank them enough.
95% of Every Dollar Goes to Food: The Power of an All-Volunteer Food Pantry
We are proud to share something that makes our food pantry especially unique: 95% of every dollar donated goes directly toward purchasing food for our neighbors in need.
How Does That Compare?
CharityWatch, one of America's well-known charity watchdog organizations, considers charities highly efficient when at least 75% of their cash expenses are devoted to programs and services. Overhead should account for no more than 25%.
Our food pantry exceeds that benchmark:
95% goes directly to purchasing food.
5% covers overhead and administrative expenses.
Thank You for Making This Possible
To our volunteers, thank you for giving something invaluable: your time and commitment. Your willingness to serve allows us to keep operating costs exceptionally low while focusing our resources on feeding people.
To our donors, thank you for trusting us with your generosity. Your support has an immediate and meaningful impact on the families we serve.
Thank you for being part of our mission. Together, we are making sure that fewer neighbors, in the 7 communities we serve, go hungry, one family and one grocery bag at a time.
As you identify clothing and household items for donation, please consider dropping them off at The Lighthouse Thrift Store, Tuesday through Sunday from 8:00-10:00am, at 126 Bridge Road, Salisbury. Your donation of items supports us and other social service organizations in the area.
Click on the link below for more information.
https://lighthousethrift.org/ways-to-support
LORETTA FUNDRAISER
Wednesday November 11, 2026 starting at 5PM
Our Loretta fundraiser continues... Wednesday, November 11th. 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 9:00 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, canned pasta with meat, baked beans, jelly, canned ham, spam, broths, and toilet paper.