A Campaign Reimagining Food Access on the North Shore
More than a Meal, The Salem Pantry’s three year, $12 million campaign, is transforming food access. Together, we are building a dignified, resilient, sustainable food access system rooted in community-based solutions.
Please join us in building a stronger, healthier North Shore.
Food Insecurity in Our Region is a Growing and Serious Problem
The percentage of households experiencing food insecurity on the North Shore has grown dramatically since the pandemic.
More and More Neighbors on the North Shore Can Not Afford Food and Face Many Challenges Accessing Healthy Foods
Many of the families that rely on The Salem Pantry live paycheck to paycheck and sometimes find themselves having to make tough decisions. Our guests often have to choose between paying for groceries or medication for a sick child. A particularly high heating bill could mean a senior living on a fixed income can only afford minimal groceries.
Our vision
We envision a future where everyone on the North Shore has reliable access to healthy food.
The Salem Pantry provides more than a meal. We provide reliable access to healthy food with dignity and choice.
“The opening of The Salem Pantry’s regional food distribution Hub is a defining milestone for food access on the North Shore. It gives us the capacity to rescue more food, strengthen partnerships across the region, and connect more neighbors with fresh, healthy food for years to come.
Together, we’re building a future where everyone has reliable access to healthy food and no one has to wonder where they will get their next meal.”
Robyn Burns, Executive Director
The Salem Pantry
Creating solutions
Through the More Than a Meal Campaign, The Salem Pantry is Building a Cutting-edge, Collaborative, Cost-effective, and Environmentally-conscious Regional Food System.
Expanding Warehouse and Storage Capacity
The More Than a Meal Campaign is funding the build-out and equipping of our new 26,000-square-foot Regional Food Distribution Hub, enabling us to receive, store, and distribute larger quantities of shelf-stable, refrigerated, and frozen food. This facility will allow us to more than double the amount of food reaching our partners and neighbors across the North Shore.
Increasing Local Food Access
The More than a Meal Campaign is making healthy food more accessible by adding a second free Market, located at our new warehouse facility, that’s easily reached by public transportation. This campaign will also fund a second Mobile Pantry truck, which will reach significantly more high-need neighborhoods each month with customizable offerings.
Growing our Staff and Volunteer Network
Our volunteers and staff are the heartbeat of the Salem Pantry. The More Than a Meal Campaign is investing in the people who make this work possible. We are prioritizing local employment, expanding our volunteer network and impacts, and growing our internship opportunities.
Amplifying Food Rescue
A new state-of-the-art refrigerated truck funded by the More Than a Meal Campaign will make it possible to expand procurement and distribution of perishables, increasing our food rescue, reducing waste, and getting healthy food to people who really need it.
Strengthening our Safety Net
The More Than a Meal campaign includes growing a Safety Net Fund that will allow The Salem Pantry and the region to be best prepared to respond to the next food access crisis. We learned through the Covid pandemic and the 2025 SNAP defunding crisis that preparation and rapid response are both critically important. The ongoing SNAP cuts, alongside very high costs of living, are already creating an escalating need.
Multiplying impact
The More than a Meal campaign is about so much more than a meal. The Salem Pantry is more than a pantry; we are a thought leader driving regional solutions to create an effective food system. The Salem Pantry – alongside our donors, volunteers, and partners – is reimagining and transforming food access on the North Shore.
Meeting the Growing Need
Food distribution
million pounds
million meals
Distribution Partnerships
Food Organizations Supported
communities impacted
Households served
Households
individuals
Access to free, healthy food changes everything. When kids and adults have enough to eat, they’re healthier, they do better in school and at work, and can better keep up with other essential expenses. The entire community benefits.
More Than a Meal is a community-wide effort, reimagining and transforming food access. We can not do this without you. With your support, we will move toward eradicating hunger on the North Shore.
Please join us in transforming food access on the North Shore by making a generous gift today.
To make a gift online or to become a monthly giver
To make a pledge or a multi-year commitment
For other ways to give
For questions about the Campaign, naming opportunities and the many ways you can support The Salem Pantry, please contact:
Hannah Beth Hembree, Director of Development
[email protected]
978-552-3954
More than a Meal Campaign Council
Barry Jones, Salem
Harry DeMonaco*, Salem
Kaitlyn Krauskopf, Swampscott
Nina Cohen, Salem
Erin Miller, Beverly
Don White, Marblehead
Jeni Indresano, Salem
Nate Bryant*, Salem
Rebecca Babbitt Chafe*, Salem
Caroline Markey and Justin Welch, Marblehead
*Indicates The Salem Pantry Board Members