Our Neighbors' Table
  • Home
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • FSAG
    • Strategic Plan
    • Contact Us
  • Get Food
    • Programs + Services
    • Guest Newsletter
  • Give
    • Breakfast Club
    • Planned Giving
    • Ways to Make a Donation >
      • Securities
  • Help Fight Hunger
    • Volunteer >
      • Volunteer Application
    • Host a Food Drive
  • News/Events
    • InspiringStories

Table Talk, Summer 2019

8/22/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
The summer is bittersweet. We get to drink up the sun and warmth of one of the best times of year in coastal New England. At the same time, we are reminded that time has passed quickly and another year will soon be history.

Here at ONT, Summer 2019 marks the half-way point for 2020 Strategic Plan: A Path to Food Security, which charts our course to raise awareness of food insecurity in our region, build ONT’s partnerships and capacity to address need, and, most importantly, to ensure that the communities of Amesbury, Newburyport, Salisbury and Merrimac can become food-secure. These are ambitious goals and it sometimes feels daunting to think we could achieve them in just 18 more months. However, now seems like the perfect time to recap how far we’ve come in the last year-and-a-half to motivate us to the finish line.
​
Creating a Food-Secure Region is a marathon, not a sprint. Some miles will be tough, while others are a smooth, flat coast (our Run Out Hunger team members will agree down-hill can be just as hard as up). But, through partnerships and solidarity with our neighbors, we are getting closer and closer to our goal.

Picture

Fill 'Em Up Fest returns for 3rd year! 

Picture
​Join us at Newburyport's Cashman Park for our popular annual food truck festival! Presented by the Institution for Savings, Fill 'Em Up Fest is a family-friendly event featuring delicious food from the area's best food trucks, local beer, live music from Alex Anthony and games for the kids. 

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Children 12 and under are free!

Can we fill 'em up? You can help feed 30 neighbors for a whole year! Your ticket purchase supports the 1 in 16 people living in our region who don't know where their next meal is coming from, including 1 in 5 seniors and 1 in 8 children. Every dollar donated provides 1 meal to a neighbor. 
​
Last year's favorites Empanada Dada, Phoenix Rising, Clyde's Cupcakes and Chick & Dogs are joined by Big Rig BBQ , Metzy's and Sacred Cod. Hope to see you on September 7! 

Volunteer Spotlight - Lisa Flynn

Picture
Lisa Flynn wasted no time diving into volunteering after she retired, and it didn’t take her long to become a regular volunteer with Our Neighbors’ Table! She came to volunteer orientation after a few weeks of retirement at the recommendation of Beth and Alan Ayres (amazing ONT volunteers themselves!). Lisa immediately felt the power and warmth of the ONT community.
​“It feeds the soul,” Lisa will tell you, “The people- volunteers, guests, staff—good people doing good things.” Very quickly, Lisa was volunteering every week at the Wednesday Meal (she’s the “Salad and Soup Lady”) and in the ONT office as receptionist. Read more about Lisa in the month's Volunteer Spotlight.

News & Events

Picture
Picture
Run Out Hunger
Sunday, October 20
​Join ONT's Run Out Hunger team and get a VIP race experience at the Newburyport Half Marathon while helping to feed our neighbors with each mile you run! Perfect for experienced runners or those looking to challenge themselves to help the community. New this year - team option is available! 
Picture
​Only a few Wednesday Meal sponsorship opportunities are available this year! Don't miss out on the amazing group experience. If you are interested in sponsoring and serving with your group or company, please contact Lyndsey as soon as possible.
Annual Breakfast
Tuesday, October 22
Mark your calendars for October 22 to join us at Blue Ocean Event Center as we share and celebrate the progress our community has made possible. We will also honor our 2019 community champions . Please join us for an impactful morning!  Tickets will be sold individually or in tables of 8. Sponsorship opportunities also available. 
Picture
​Melanie Bouchard joined ONT this week for a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA member. Melanie is serving as Community Engagement Coordinator and will be helping with volunteers and community outreach. Say hello next time you're in the office! 

Thank you to our 2019 Great Neighbors! 

​These Great Neighbors are making a big impact on hunger. Join their ranks and become a Great Neighbor today! 
Picture
0 Comments

Charting the Path to a Food Secure Region

8/21/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Summer 2019 marks the half-way point for 2020 Strategic Plan: A Path to Food Security, which charts our course to raise awareness of food insecurity in our region, build ONT’s partnerships and capacity to address need, and, most importantly, to ensure that the communities of Amesbury, Newburyport, Salisbury and Merrimac can become food-secure. These are ambitious goals and it sometimes feels daunting to think we could achieve them in just 18 more months. However, now seems like the perfect time to recap how far we’ve come in the last year-and-a-half to motivate us to the finish line.

Creating a Food-Secure Region is a marathon, not a sprint. Some miles will be tough, while others are a smooth, flat coast (our Run Out Hunger team members will agree down-hill can be just as hard as up). But, through partnerships and solidarity with our neighbors, we are getting closer and closer to our goal.
​
Click on the below photos for further details about ONT's progress to date!
FSAG
0 Comments

ONT Partners with Children's Health Care

8/21/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
​In 2018, ONT conducted a regional needs assessment to better understand for whom and why food insecurity continued to be a significant problem. Nearly half of those testing positive for food insecurity were parents or grandparents with children 0-18 in the home. For these families, the number one reported reason for worrying about or going without adequate, quality food was not having enough money to cover the expenses of living, including being able to buy enough food.
 
In the survey, ONT asked if these families were using any private or public programs to help keep food on the table. These responses were just as troubling:
  • Less than half of families in need utilize free or reduced meals at school
  • 58% were using local food programs (like ONT or other similar programs)
  • 1 out of 5 are enrolled in SNAP
  • 1 in 4 are enrolled in WIC
 
With this information in hand, ONT has set out to reach these families and we’re starting where we know most families go: the pediatrician’s office! Thanks to Massachusetts’ strong focus on access to health care over the last 15 years, nearly all children are seen regularly by their pediatrician. In 2018, ONT partnered with Newburyport-based Children’s Health Care to ensure that screening for food insecurity would be an integral part of providing preventive care to children across our region.
 
The ONT-CHC partnership builds on a growing interest in the health care field to integrate “Social Determinants of Health” into health care. These are the non-medical factors that can influence someone’s well-being, like poverty, pollution, or community violence, and, research shows, has strong correlations to increased illnesses and costs of health care.
 
In early 2019, ONT trained 75 CHC staff – physicians, nurse practitioners, medical assistants and even office staff – on the prevalence and effects of food insecurity in our region, how to discuss concerns with caregivers in a compassionate manner, and, most importantly, how to connect families with ONT’s Food Resource Advocate to ensure they will get connected with helpful and much-needed food resources.
 
Food insecurity is a community problem, and it is also a very personal matter. Parents are guarded and, for many reasons, fearful of talking about their struggles. Through this partnership, ONT and CHC are building trust and offering real solutions to local families. The goal: no more families fall through the cracks and every child and their parent have the nourishing food they need to thrive.

0 Comments

Volunteer Spotlight - Lisa Flynn

8/20/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Lisa Flynn wasted no time diving into volunteering after she retired, and it didn’t take her long to become a regular volunteer with Our Neighbors’ Table! Lisa retired from Welch’s (the jam and jelly company) in December last year and came to ONT volunteer orientation at the beginning of February. Lisa’s friends and amazing ONT volunteers Beth and Alan Ayres highly recommended Our Neighbors’ Table. Lisa immediately felt the power and warmth of the ONT community. “It feeds the soul,” Lisa will tell you, “The people- volunteers, guests, staff—good people doing good things.”

Very quickly, Lisa was volunteering every week at the Wednesday Meal (she’s the “Salad and Soup Lady”) and in the ONT office as receptionist. Lisa shares her professional skills by meticulously assisting ONT’s development team with thank you letters for donations, but her real passion lies in working directly with guests. “I love working with people, and being able to make someone’s life a tiny bit better feels better than anything else in this world.” She looks forward to getting trained as a guest intake volunteer so she can welcome new market guests and help them get the resources they need.
​
Lisa lives in Newburyport with her husband Dennis. In her free time she enjoys baking (the products of which she shares with staff and volunteers at ONT!), crocheting, and spending time with her family and dog. 

0 Comments

Sustaining Investments from the Cummings Foundation, the Mary Alice Arakelian Foundation, the United Way and More Will Drive Progress Throughout Northeastern Essex County

8/19/2019

0 Comments

 
Our Neighbors’ Table, a non-profit organization that has turned food assistance on its head by providing flexible, personalized programs through Northeastern Essex County, today announced that it is poised to declare Newburyport, Salisbury and Merrimac “Food Secure Cities” by the end of 2020.   This comes on the heels of declaring Amesbury its first Food Secure City in 2018.  Additionally, Our Neighbors’ Table has laid out a strategic plan to ensure its entire service region in Northeastern Essex County is food-secure by 2029. 
 
 Our Neighbors’ Table has secured both short and long-term investments that help make this vision possible:
  • A three-year grant of $150,000 from the Mary Alice Arakelian Foundation launched a program to implement universal food insecurity screening and intervention for Children’s Health Care’s 16,000 patients.
  • A sustaining grant from the Cummings Foundation, $500,000 over 10 years, that allowed the organization to project the possibility of a food secure region by 2029.
  • Additional investments from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley and Steward Health are putting the critical work of the FSAG into action and giving it the capacity to evaluate the impact of food security on the health and stability of the entire community.

“The volume of meals we have distributed has more than doubled over the last three years. Our focus now is ensuring those meals get into the hands of all of our neighbors who need it,” explains Executive Director Lyndsey Haight. . “While the economy is thriving for some, we are seeing more and more people in our community falling through the cracks. We’ve seen first-hand the impact we can have when individuals, city- and town-services, businesses, and community groups come together. Food security is something we can provide for every person living in our community.”
 
Despite the economic recovery and the prevalence of wealth in the region, the level of food insecurity in northeastern Essex County has increased by almost 10%, by more than 15% in Newburyport and by 40% in Salisbury, since 2015 (data provided by Greater Boston Food Bank).
 
Serving 11 communities of northeastern Essex County, ONT has established a strong collective formally known as the Food Security Advisory Council (FSAG) that is working together to better understand the barriers that prevent local residents from accessing adequate and nutritious food on a daily basis and to formalize effective strategies to make food available and accessible to everyone when and where it is needed.
 
Food Insecurity is defined by the USDA is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
 
The Food Security Advisory Council includes the Mayors of Newburyport and Amesbury; Anna Jaques Hospital, Superintendents from the Amesbury, Newburyport, Triton and Pentucket school districts; Children’s Health Care; Councils on Aging in Salisbury and Newburyport; and law enforcement, social service providers, and town officials from across the region.
 
Hunger affects 1 out of every 16 people living in northeastern Essex County. That means there are 6,000 neighbors with empty plates on their tables. Even more staggering, 1 out of every 5 of our seniors and 1 out of every 8 children in our region are struggling through each day without enough food. Our Neighbors’ Table has eliminated the traditional approach of strict schedules, cumbersome qualification and limited food selection by offering people-centric experiences and access to fresh, wholesome food when and where people throughout northeastern Essex County need it. Our grocery programs provide food assistance to individuals and families living in Amesbury, Boxford, Byfield, Georgetown, Groveland, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salisbury, South Hampton (NH), and West Newbury. Visit ourneighborstable.org for more information.
​
0 Comments

    Categories

    All
    Around Town
    Donations
    Events
    Food Drives
    Food Insecurity
    Fundraisers
    How To Help
    Most Needed Items
    Newsletter
    Table Talk Newsletter
    Volunteer Opportunities

    Archives

    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    November 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    September 2013
    May 2012
    September 2010

    RSS Feed

Our Neighbors' Table
P.O. Box 592
Amesbury, MA 01913

Call us @ 978.388.1907
Emergency Hotline: 978.835.3016
Picture
Our Neighbors' Table is a proud member of:
Picture
Picture
Photo used under Creative Commons from emily.laurel504