![]() It's the moment we've all been waiting for! Time to cut the ribbon and officially open the Jardis-Taylor Center for Our Neighbors' Table!!! Members of the public are welcome to join our ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday, May 24, 5:30pm. There are only 6 days left to get your campaign donation in. We are now at $1,092,000 toward our goal of $1.1 million! Make your donation today!
If you would like to volunteer at the Jardis-Taylor Center or in any of our programs, please visit our volunteer page to complete your online application.
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Notes from AHPC 2016 from Lori Townsend, ONT Program Director I like FRAC. FRAC (Food Research and Action Center) works to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger in the US, and I’ve found them a source of valuable information about hunger-related issues. (For a great read, see FRAC’s publication Eight Essential Strategies to End Hunger in America at http://frac.org/pdf/plan-to-end-hunger-in-america.pdf.) When offered the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC to attend FRAC’s 2016 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, I jumped at the chance!
And, I wasn’t disappointed - two and a half days chock-full of seminars addressing a wide variety of issues affecting our country’s safety net for people who are food insecure; the opportunity to learn from experts in our field, including Kathryn Edin, co-author of Two Dollars a Day, (another must read!); and meetings with the staff of each of our U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey… and a surprise visit with Congressman Seth Moulton! Sounds like enough excitement for one conference, but, it was the session I attended called Food is Medicine – Improving Health through Healthcare Partnerships that provided me with resources that I hope will prove invaluable to future programs at Our Neighbors’ Table. Health care providers are becoming increasingly aware that an important piece of improving patients’ health is addressing food insecurity, and many physicians and hospitals around the country have taken a preventive approach by actively screening for food insecurity, and offering services to address them. Building partnerships between healthcare providers and community service organizations like Our Neighbors’ Table is a model that has seen a great deal of success across the country. During this session, I had the opportunity to meet with Lynn Knox, who has implemented such a program at the Oregon Food Bank. She generously shared materials that should be very helpful to ONT, should we decide to implement a Healthcare partnership model here in our service region. As we look for creative ways to reach people in our service area, these tools and relationships will provide a strong foundation for effective programs. So, all in all, this trip to Washington far exceeded any expectations that I could have hoped for at the outset. I felt assured by our Senators’ and Representative’s commitment to helping our most vulnerable citizens. And I look forward to putting to use the resources I picked up from colleagues across the country. Do you work for a local doctor’s office? Are interested in helping us implement a Healthcare partnership model in our area? If so, please contact Lori Townsend. Check out this brief video from Feeding America on the relationship between health and food insecurity. An interview with Betty...
Last Wednesday, Santa made his annual visit to Our Neighbors' Table. Each year, he comes to dinner to visit with our guests, young and old. Children get dressed in their frilly dresses and bows and sweaters and ties. And the excitement bursts from their faces the moment they see his jolly face.
This year, the crowds gathered as usual - many familiar faces sprinkled with new families coming for the first time. As I was greeting and lining children up for their photos, a woman dressed festively in an elf hat and holiday sweater pulled me aside. "My son has something he wants to say to you," she said. I knew this woman, we'll call her "Lynn" and her son. She's a single mother with two young boys. She works as an assistant manager in a fast food restaurant. While the franchise has nearby locations, she continues to commute 35 minutes so that she can keep her tenure and her pay rate. Transferring stores would mean reverting back to $10/hour. Her mother, who also struggles financially, provides help with the boys when she can. The family shops weekly at our pantry and is especially grateful for the extra food that comes with the Summer Lunch Program. So back to the Christmas dinner. I bent over so I can hear the soft voice of "Steven", who stands closely to his mother, looking bashfully at the floor. "Hi, Steven. Merry Christmas!" I say. Steven slowly looks up at me, barely whispers "Merry Christmas" and holds out his hand. As I look down, I see a crisp $10 bill folded neatly in his fingers. And he is handing that $10 to me. Surprised and a bit confused, I ask Steven what this is. "I had a birthday and I got this birthday money." "And you're giving it to us?" I asked. "Why?" Steven looked at me with a shy smile and replied, "So you can help families who come to Our Neighbors' Table." My heart nearly burst! I couldn't help but wrap my arms around him and give him a big squeeze and quickly brought him over to share his compassion and generosity with Santa Claus, and just about anyone else who would listen. In this holiday season, if you were thinking of giving, but wondered what an impact your gift would have, think of Steven and his family. Every day they struggle. But for Steven, he is learning that even he can make life easier for someone else. His is the kind of gift that keeps on giving. 2016 Update: I ran into Steven at the dessert table last week at our annual Christmas dinner. "How are you doing these days?" I asked. "GREAT!" Steven responded enthusiastically! He was so excited to talk about playing football and basketball. I couldn't help by smile watching Steven visit with Santa and reconnect with an old school friend. They laughed and joked, like all kids should. Happy Holidays to you and yours from all of the Stevens here at Our Neighbors' Table! Each year, Our Neighbors' Table distributes 400,000 meals to people in need across 12 cities and towns, hosts 130 or more guests to a three-course meal every Wednesday, and engages volunteers in more than 300 hours of service every week. Food pantries were once small operations, often embedded in a church community, that provided help in emergency situations. This isn't the case anymore. Hunger affects 1 out of every 6 people in the US and 1 out of every 16 people here on the north shore. ONT is no longer an emergency service, it's a lifeline for thousands of people - working, retired, facing illness - who can't make ends meet. Our work requires tremendous commitment and skills from our staff. "Working with individuals and families in their most vulnerable hour is a privilege, and isn't always easy. It demands patience, compassion, and creativity," states Executive Director Lyndsey Haight. "Add to that the high physicals demands and sense of organization to move a half-million pounds of food every year across a large geographic region, government reporting requirements, and the understanding of a complex socio-economic system that brings hundreds of new guests to our door every year." And now, our team is equipped to face these challenges. Meet our newest team members!
![]() Our Neighbors' Table is hosting its first Annual Breakfast: Eliminating Hunger One Table at a Time on Tuesday, November 10, at the Blue Ocean Event Hall. The Master of Ceremonies will be David Boudreau. David has volunteered a number of times at ONT serving meals. “It is humbling serving those less fortunate, and it makes me count my blessings. There is a tremendous and growing need that is filled by ONT, and the committed and dedicated volunteers and staff give dignity and sustenance to those in our community that need a helping hand”. David Boudreau is Sr. Vice President of Commercial Lending at Institution for Savings. He has worked there over 9 years, and has been in the banking industry over 30 years in the Metro north area. He serves in many ways in our local communities, as a money management volunteer at Elders Services of the Merrimac Valley, on the N. Andover Scholarship Foundation board, as a Finance Committee Member of St. Michael Parish in N. Andover, and as a member of Amesbury Rotary for 8 years. He just returned from Cebu, Philippines with Rotaplast Intl, where he served as a non-medical volunteer assisting a team of doctors who completed cleft lip and palate surgeries on 104 underprivileged children. David got his BA from Boston College, and MBA from Suffolk University. He lives in N. Andover with his wife Ann, who are recent empty nesters! Two kids out of college and one to go! Join David on Tuesday, November 10 at the Blue Ocean Event Hall. Breakfast and registration begin at 7:30am. Program to follow 8am-9am. Purchase your tickets now! This year's Summer Lunch Program featured beautiful, fresh fruits and vegetables grown just up the road! Thanks to support from the Haas Foundation and a strong collaborative spirit, nearly 70 families (more than 200 children) brought home fresh fruit and vegetables grown at Heron Pond Farm in South Hampton. The partnership between Heron Pond and ONT brought 20 CSA half-shares, plus the 'extras' thrown in by Andre and Greg, to really boost the offerings provided to families who might otherwise be struggling during the summer months.
This partnership is not anything new at ONT. In fact, for more than 5 years, it's been the norm. Every week during the local growing season, ONT receives bushels (and sometimes truck loads) of fresh produce from growers like Heron Pond Farm, Old Stone Farm in West Newbury, or the Farm at Eastman's Corner, as well as countless personal gardeners and the school-based community gardens, like the one at Cashman Elementary School. "It's like our own little farmers market. Everything is freshly picked," shares ONT Executive Director Lyndsey Haight. "For most of our guests, fresh produce is too expensive to purchase on a regular basis. Thanks to these partnerships and our community's generosity, we can offer it to our guests every week." From the familiar carrots and tomatoes, to the adventurous kohlrabi, guests at ONT's pantry and meal programs enjoy the best our region has to offer - YEAR-ROUND! This year, Heron Pond will be sending 30 winter CSA shares to the ONT pantry with another grant from Haas. It will be an incredible supplement to the produce we've been getting through the colder months thanks to an increasing focus on fresh produce at the Greater Boston Food Bank. With as little as a $10 donation, ONT can provide a family with a healthy helping of fresh vegetables and fruits, a half gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, assorted dairy, healthy items like hummus and tofu, meat or fish. "It's great to see fresh food becoming the focus of hunger relief work around the country. We started with a bit back in 2010, then, in response to our guests' requests, we really boosted the program in 2011 and don't plan to stop anytime soon," explains Haight. "Today, we spend more than 95% of our food budget on fresh foods. We work hard to engage wholesalers, retailers, local growers, and the food banks to help us get the most from every dollar. But we never sacrifice quality. If it's not something I would eat, we don't give it out." In the last two years, ONT has also partnered with Pennies for Poverty to help leverage the pennies collected at registered across the region into gift cards to local farms like Cider Hill, Colby Farm, and Tendercrop Farm. These gift cards allow ONT's guests to shop on their own and participate in the rich agricultural traditions that have become staples in our local culture. If you'd like to learn more about contributing fresh, local produce to our programs, contact ONT Pantry Director Lori Townsend. ![]() Pictured left to right: Kelly Chadwick, ONT Board Member; Leslie Fowler, Rhythm Café; Judy Dodier, Align Credit Union; Sean Toomey, Crave; Paul Eastman and Christina Johnson, Phat Cats Bistro; Jeff Nahas, Ale House/Barking Dog; Lyndsey Haight, ONT Executive Director; and Matt Chase, Ale House/Barking Dog. Through the month of September, Hunger Action Month, diners at these restaurants purchased virtual meals and raised enough money to fill more than 2600 plates with nutritious food for neighbors in need. Thanks to Align Credit Union for sponsoring the campaign so that every dollar donated by diners went straight to supporting ONT’s food programs. Our Neighbors’ Table thanks all of the participating restaurants and their generous patrons for taking action against hunger in our community.
Missed the campaign? You can still Fill Your Neighbor's Plate! ONT Executive Director Lyndsey Haight sat down with Dot to hear about her experiences as a guest and volunteer at Our Neighbors’ Table. ![]() LH: What brought you to ONT for help? Dot: I was going through a divorce and it took 3 years to start receiving child support. I was working a 30-hr/week job and had a daughter that had special medical needs that prohibited me from getting a second job. Friends helped me out a lot but they are not an unlimited resource and they have their own lives and needs to worry about. One day it came down to either putting gas in my car to get to work or buy food. LH: How did you find ONT? Dot: I have two teenage kids. They had volunteered for ONT as part of their school. We lived in Amesbury so we were aware of the organization. LH: What was it like to come to ONT for the first time? Dot: I was so ashamed. I felt so humiliated on the drive over. I come from Manchester, MA, where people don’t think about getting help or the possibility of needing help. A lot of people were saying 'you should be getting a second or third job' but that wasn’t a possibility for me. The day I came to ONT, I walked in and met Lori [ONT’s Pantry Director]. She chatted with me about regular things, like I had just met her in the grocery store. She treated me like a normal human being. After that, I left with my head held high. I felt like I left with my dignity intact – on my way over I felt like I was losing it by asking for help. LH: How often did you use the programs at ONT for help? Dot: I came to the pantry every Saturday for close to a year and then once in a while when things got tight. LH: How did it make a difference for you? Dot: Just to know that there was food in the cabinet to make a meal and to be able to feed my children a nutritious meal. I have type 1 Diabetes so it meant a lot to be able to come and get wholesome food and meat. It’s important for me to eat quality food to control my diabetes so that I can take care of myself and, as a result, take care of my kids. As money got tighter, the food I had to choose at the grocery store was the “cheaper” more processed food, not really what we should be eating. Coming to ONT didn’t eliminate our financial constraints, but the meat we could get and the holiday meal program made a big difference. Knowing that if I was going to someone’s house for the holiday and could actually bring something to share, a pie or a dish – like a normal person – meant a lot to me. LH: Can you talk a little about your experiences here at ONT? Dot: I was standing in line and the woman in front of me was an attorney with three small children and a sick husband. She had lost her job. She never expected to be wanting for anything. But life circumstances happen – they can happen to anyone. I had to put my pride in the back seat. I was raised that you don’t ask for help; that it’s the worst thing to ask for help. It was actually healing for me to be able to ask for help and to leave with my pride and dignity intact. I came for the holiday program once and saw two women I knew well from town. I couldn’t come in; I made my sister come and get my food. The parent of my son’s friend was volunteering here. I didn’t want to come when she was here, and then I found out that they come here too. LH: Did your children know you were using a food pantry? Dot: At the time, my son was 14 and daughter was 17. They knew what our financial situation was like. It’s in the little things every day. We rented an apartment and got fuel assistance, so when the weather got cold, I’d tell them to put on another sweater. They knew I had to come to ONT for help. We talked about it before I came; I told them I needed to get help. I usually tried to come by myself but sometimes they would wait in the car. After some time, they actually felt a little excited each time I came home with bags of food – digging through the bags to see what I got. There seemed to be a sense of relief – a bit different from their reactions when I came home from the grocery store. They loved making grilled cheese with the bread and cheese I got. My son, now 16, was doing a psych project for school and said he almost misses being financially strapped because it made him appreciate the little things – things he doesn’t have to worry about now. LH: Where are you today? Dot: Today I am happily remarried. We have a joint income that supports our family. When we were dating, even though he wanted to take care of us, I still came here. I didn’t want to rely on him. I have a job I love at the NH SPCA. And now I can give back. It means a lot to give back at Our Neighbors’ Table. It’s such a relief to be able to sleep at night and not worry about where our next meal is coming from. LH: Why do you want to share your story? Dot: I want people to not be afraid to ask for help. Everyone goes through it in one form or another. That energy you’re expending – that feeling of terror to think that you won’t be able to eat – you can focus that energy on working and changing your situation, or to focus on enjoying time with your children, it takes the joy out of your life, getting this help helps you put that joy back into your life and not focus all your energy on trying to dig out of this hole. I used to have a nice house; we used to go on vacations. I used to go to Plum Island to go birding or go up to North Conway to hike. But that’s gas that is otherwise getting me to work. You realize all those little things that you once had in your day-to-day life. Then to realize you can’t stop at Dunkin’s for the $2 coffee because it meant taking food out of my kids’ mouths. Your life starts to shrink. It was so all-consuming. I was making $19,000 a year so a cup of coffee was a luxury. When everyone at the office is pitching in to get pizza and they stop asking you because they know you don’t have the money – you really feel bad about yourself. There's a ripple effect of how it affects your life. LH: What would you want to say to someone debating looking for help? Dot: You shouldn’t be afraid. You will be treated with an enormous amount of dignity. The relief is worth the anxiety you felt in deciding to come. And you will leave with your dignity. Everyone can fall on hard times and usually it’s temporary. It’s important to know there’s something to help you during that time. LH: What would you say to someone who currently supports our programs? Dot: With just an item or two, you’re making a big difference. Never underestimate the impact of one person. Taking a moment to buy a couple of healthy items allows people to have good choices – it’s so easy yet such a nurturing gesture. For someone to walk in and be able to pick up the brand of pasta they would normally buy if they could, gives such relief to that guest. Just that one item can give that person that feeling of normalcy in an otherwise very difficult time. It was a big deal to get a big tube of toothpaste. The toiletries were a big deal. You think about needing food, but you don’t think about shampoo and soap until you realize you can’t afford them. |
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