2017: 1 Million Meals, More than 3,400 Neighbors Served!
What a year! And it didn't just happen by chance. More than 600 volunteers dedicated more than 28,000 hours of service and thousands of you contributed more than $840,000 in funds and $558,000 in food and toiletries to ensure our doors opened every day and our neighbors were welcomed and served all year long.
Thank you to every single one of YOU! We have high hopes for the year ahead and the potential to serve even more neighbors in 2018. Watch for our official 2017 annual report that will publish in early March. In the meantime, stay involved, come visit us, and help us spread the word about food insecurity in our community.                                                                                                                                    Lyndsey Haight
                                                          Executive Director

How Can You Get Involved in 2018?
Every week, we register new neighbors and families who come to us for help. We expect to serve more than 3,500 people this year. But we can't do it without YOU. 

​Our Neighbors’ Table is proud to once again provide holiday food to local families during the season of giving. Over 600 families are counting on ONT to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday meals with their loved ones.
​This week, more than 200 volunteers will lend a hand, make home deliveries, and welcome guests to the market to "shop" for their Thanksgiving turkeys and fixings. To help make their table extra special and personal, every guest will also receive a $10 gift card to a local grocery store.
Next month, Christmas cheer is abound! The market will be filled with holiday groceries and will be open for special holiday hours from December 12th - 16th. Santa comes to the Wednesday Meal for dinner, pictures and Christmas carols on December 13!

​For volunteer opportunities or to sign up for holiday groceries, please call our office, 978-388-1907. And just a reminder, ONT will be closed November 23-26 and December 24-January 1 to give our volunteers and staff a well-deserved rest!

​This year’s annual breakfast was a celebration of the incredible growth in service thanks to the support of our community. In 2016, Our Neighbors’ Table provided 550,000 meals to nearly 3,000 local residents. This year we will fill one million plates for our neighbors in need – already reaching our projections for 2020. Read more about the breakfast and 2017 impact.

Local police, schools, churches and neighborhoods are hosting various events to keep plates filled through the holidays. Check out the complete list of ONT-supporting events!

Now in its seventh year, ONT’s Summer Lunch Program is bigger than ever with 300 children already enrolled and a second distribution site added! The 8-week program, running July 5-August 26, provides extra groceries for healthy breakfast, lunch and snacks to families with school-aged children. This year we expanded our program to include a distribution site at the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Merrimack Valley in Salisbury. SLP helps cover the gap left when kids are no longer receiving free- or reduced lunch through their schools. We’re saving each family nearly $150 per month per child! To sign up for the Summer Lunch Program, call 978-388-1907. ONT is currently competing for $10,000 through KIND snacks’ KIND Causes. Vote for ONT today!

ONT’s programs are funded primarily through donations from local individuals, businesses and foundations. As need in our region continues to grow, their continued generosity will ensure we never have to turn anyone away. Our Neighbors’ Table recognizes those donors who are really leading the charge through our Spoon Platoon program, which was officially inaugurated on June 13th with the installation of a beautiful living sculpture created by local artists Ryan Kelley and Stephen Martin. Engraved spoons commemorate families, neighborhood groups, local businesses, and individuals who have made food security in our community a philanthropic priority, supporting the construction of The Jardis-Taylor Center for Our Neighbors’ Table as well as our day-to-day programs. YOU can join the Spoon Platoon today!

Your support opens the door for new guests every day. Every $1=1 more meal on the table!

Save the Date: September 9
FILL EM UP FEST! Food truck festival on Newburyport's waterfront! Tickets and details coming later this month.

We've kicked it off with a good start! So far we've raised over $30,000 toward our annual fund goal of $250,000. Local diners raised $10,000 through the Fill Your Neighbors' Plate campaign featured at 17 local restaurants! And more than 20 hosts opened their homes and raised more than $17,000 in the Table to Table campaign! This adds to the dollars raised through the Meet-up with Terry O'Reilly and the various events and drives organized by all of YOU!
​
There's much to celebrate as we look over the last 25 years, the nearly 10,000 people who have received food from our programs, the estimated 5 million meals provided, and the hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours served. But the truth of the matter is, 2017 will mark a pivotal change in the growth of Our Neighbors' Table. The new market at the Jardis-Taylor Center means more people can access food here and that ONT can leverage its capacity to help communities across our service region ensure all of their members are food secure. For 25 years, every year has broken the record of meals and people set the year before. And this year will be no different. With your help - and ONLY with your help - every single person who comes to our door will be welcomed and will receive the food they need. For our 25th anniversary, we need to raise $250,000 to help us provide the anticipated 800,000 meals needed in our community. Make your anniversary gift today!

Welcome to the Jardis-Taylor Center for Our Neighbors' Table!
It's been 6 weeks since we opened the doors of the Jardis-Taylor Center and it's like it has been our home for years! Guests are overjoyed with the shopping experience in our state-of-the-art market, volunteers delight in the ease of sorting food in our new warehouse. But most importantly, this new facility is already making our programs more accessible to more people in need - nearly 30% more in the first month!
Thank you to all of the donors who helped us surpass our Captial Campaign goal of $1.1 million, especially Greg Jardis, Institution for Savings, and J Charitable Remainder Trust; to the members of the ONT Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and guests who created this vision of a special place for our neighbors in their time of need; to our architect Greg Colling and our contractor McPartland Corp. who went above and beyond to create a worthy home for our mission for years to come; and our volunteer project manager John Massaua for keeping this project on-time and on-budget. Read more about the campaign and the project.​

Calling Volunteers! Have you attended volunteer orientation yet? Whether you're new or have been volunteering for a while, we ask that you sign up for an upcoming volunteer orientation to learn more about our mission and to hear about all of the opportunities at ONT. Contact Sue Andrews to register for one of our July orientations. Haven't filled out a volunteer application yet? Do it online today and you'll receive an invitation to the orientations!

The value of public-private partnershipsHere at ONT, it’s no secret that our mission is carried out thanks to the generosity of individuals and local businesses who give of their time and their money because they care about their neighbors. But over the years, ONT has valued the support and partnerships of our public sector, and we’re excited about these growing opportunities. In 2015 alone, more than 150,000 meals were provided with the support from state and federal programs. Who do we partner with?

Here at ONT, it’s no secret that our mission is carried out thanks to the generosity of individuals and local businesses who give of their time and their money because they care about their neighbors. But over the years, ONT has valued the support and partnerships of our public sector, and we’re excited about these growing opportunities. In 2015 alone, public partnerships supported 150,000 meals to the region.
Since our very first year of operation, ONT has sourced food through state-funded resources, like the Department of Education meals programs in the 1990’s and later through state and federal funded food stocks offered at regional food banks. Today, approximately 20% of the food we provide comes through the MEFAP line item of the state budget and the TEFAP line item in the federal budget.
Did you know that each year, ONT serves more than 100 military veterans and their families? We can’t do that alone. For ten years, ONT has contracted with the Department of Veterans Services to provide emergency assistance to local veterans. What started as sporadic aid in times of crisis has become ongoing assistance to help our military families and aging veterans make ends meet. Thankfully, our State Representative Jim Kelcourse, with support from our State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives, has championed our work and doubled our funding to keep pace with the growing need.
In 2016, ONT is excited about our newest partnership, working with the City of Amesbury and Town of Merrimac under the Community Development Block Grant to help serve low- and moderate-income residents. Last year, ONT served 1 out of every 10 residents of Amesbury and 1 out of every 30 Merrimac residents. Each year, we see hundreds of new families and individuals from these communities. CDBG money will be used to curb the cost the growing number of people turning to ONT for food assistance.
Partnerships with state and local government doesn’t just bring funding, they are also effective tools to help us reach people in need. ONT has been partnering with the Councils on Aging and Housing Authorities in Amesbury and Merrimac for nearly 10 years. We’ve worked together to identify local residents, especially seniors and people with disabilities who are struggling without enough food. Through creativity and collaboration, we’ve been providing on-site mobile pantries at Amesbury’s Heritage Towers and Powow Villa for nearly 10 years and home delivery services to residents who are homebound since 2010. In Merrimac, we now fully support the food inventory for the Council on Aging’s pantry and delivery program, while the COA provides space for our mobile distribution to residents of Merrimac.
As we continue to leverage the new Jardis-Taylor Center to increase our capacity, we look to developing similar relationships and creative partnerships with public departments across our service region to reach our neighbors who have yet to find their way to our doors.

Get involved today! Check out these upcoming opportunities to lend a hand here at ONT.

Be a Leader!
Volunteers play a critical role in delivering our programs to people in need. But did you know volunteers also serve a vital role in laying the groundwork for ONT's future? ONT's Board of Directors is looking for energetic individuals who are passionate about ending hunger to serve on its working committees. We'd love to put your talents and expertise to great use! 
The Volunteer Recognition Committee works to improve our volunteers' overall experience at ONT through better communication, opportunities for recognition, support and training. Table Talk was born from our Volunteer Recognition Committee. If you like to nurture others, have good ideas about supporting volunteers, and want to help, contact Pat Smith or Murray Bailey to find out more!
Keeping our pantry and kitchen stocked takes a lot of food and cash donations. Our Resource Development Committee coordinates our calendar of food drives and fundraisers to make sure we are here for anyone who needs us. If you are creative and like to talk about the work we do at ONT, then contact Joan Bukoskey or Amanda Kelcourse to get involved today!

Families Wanted!
Our Summer Lunch Program is underway, providing lots of nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack foods to help families get through the summer break. This program not only helps families, but gives families a great opportunity to help. We have the following openings. Call 978.388.1907 or email Lyndsey to reserve your slot today!
Saturdays, 9:00-11:30 - July 26, August 9 and 23

On June 28th, more than 50 runners turned out to climb Po' Hill and raise food and money for Our Neighbors' Table. It was the very first Rock CAN Run Road Race, organized by one of Our Neighbors’ Table’s youngest volunteers – Andre Bailin.  Andre is 9 years old, and in the 3rd grade at Amesbury Elementary School.  He has been involved with road races his whole life, and, this year, put his experience to good use with his first event to benefit Our Neighbors’ Table.

The Rock CAN Run Road Race was a one mile run up Pow Wow Hill starting at the Nicholas Costello Transportation Center. Despite the hot temperatures, dozens of enthusiastic runners lined the starting line and ran to the top - nearly all of them carrying heavy bags of canned goods for ONT's pantry. The run is difficult climb, but for most it's over in less than 30 minutes. For the thousands of people facing hunger in our region, hunger is an uphill climb every day. The Rock CAN Run collected more than 12 crates of food and $800 to help ONT make that climb a little easier for our neighbors.

At the end of the run, participants enjoyed Turkey Hill ice cream provided by 104.1FM and a beautiful view to the Atlantic from Batchelder Park. Andre and his family even hosted runners back at his house for live music and refreshments! Way to go Andre! You are an inspiration for generations to come!