Salem Pantry, North Shore Shops Work Together To Fight Hunger Crisis

SALEM, MA — A partnership between The Salem Pantry and seven North Shore grocery and food providers is helping mitigate what Pantry officials called an increasing demand for food among a growing guest population.

The Salem Pantry continues to see increased visits to its mobile food pantries, brick-and-mortar location The Market on Leavitt Street, and delivery services with 6,600 visits in January alone.

The Salem Pantry collaborates with the following grocery stores through food rescue donations:

• ALDI
• Shaw's
• Stop & Shop
• Daily Table
• Henry's Fine Foods
• Whole Foods
• Hannaford

"By making these connections with retailers in our communities, we don't just increase the variety of food accessible to our pantry guests, we also create partnerships that give these companies a larger stake in our communities," Food Acquisition & Distribution Manager Fred Norton said. "By participating in food rescue operations, these businesses directly contribute to our community, benefiting our guests and significantly reducing waste."

While the Greater Boston Food Bank provides the majority of food distributed by The Salem Pantry, support from local stores has been crucial in maintaining consistent access to food, especially outside of the growing season.

"We donate to the pantry because we do not like to see any food go to waste," said Laurie Eline Director of Food Service for Henry's Beverly. "It helps us to be a part of the community and we are grateful to see this food go to those who need it."

The Salem Pantry also receives food rescue donations from various other sources, including local bakeries and wholesalers, including Lulu's Bakery and Pantry & A&J King Artisan Bakers.

The pantry receives an average of 32,000 pounds of donated food each month through these food rescue partnerships.

More The Salem Pantry, its programs and partnerships, can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

*Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 54 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations.

Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.