Table Talk, Summer 2024

We're Halfway to 20K! Can You Help us Make Our Match?

Time is running out! If Our Neighbors’ Table can raise $20,000 by Saturday, August 31, we have been pledged an additional $20,000 matching gift. This match provides the unique opportunity to DOUBLE your donation’s impact.  
Can you help us reach our goal?
Since we launched this challenge on Sunday, we have already received more than $10,000 in donations, but we have a long way to go.
The number of people struggling to keep enough food on the table continues to grow. Our most recent data shows visits to our programs have increased 25% over last year. The $40,000 can purchase 40,000 meals for neighbors.
When you support Our Neighbors’ Table, you directly impact our must vulnerable in 11 communities across the region. Join us and make sure everyone has consistent, reliable access to healthy food. Our communities are stronger when our neighbors are full. 

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Donate here!

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Growing Our Services to Meet Region's Growing Need

When we provide services with kindness and dignity, we know more will accept the help they need. And due to the rising cost of living and public benefits that are barely keeping up with inflation, more people than ever are seeking our services.
New registrations for our grocery program rose 58% in June over the same month last year. Of those new registrants, more than 75% said they feared running out of food in the past three months and 50% had to go without food with no money to buy more.
Children are our fastest growing demographic, with as many as 1 in 3 students in many local schools relying on free breakfast and lunch - meals that go away during the summer months, adding to household food budgets.
At Our Neighbors’ Table, the work never stops, and that’s why we continue to scale our work to meet the needs of the region.
In June, we opened the Our Neighbors’ Table Salisbury Market at 114 Bridge Road to a line of smiling shoppers. 
The new market uses the same innovative model that helped make Amesbury the nation’s first food secure city in 2018, offering a variety of fresh foods in a bright and vibrant grocery store setting. For families, the market offers extra summer groceries that fills the school meal gap.
We temporarily closed the market at the Jardis-Taylor Center in Amesbury for renovations and will reopen it in the fall, providing the region with two free grocery markets to serve people in need. And while it’s not yet complete, the Seacoast Regional Food Hub is already expanding resources for the region, and has distributed more than 546,000 pounds of food to partners across the region.
Building community level food security requires a community-wide effort, and only happens when people like you donate time and treasure. Thank you for your continued commitment to our mission.

Amesbury Renovation Nearly Complete

The Amesbury Market located at the Jardis-Taylor Center, 194 Main Street, Amesbury, is being renovated and will re-open this fall. The renovated space will have more room and a better flow for shoppers.
​Join us for the ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, October 2!

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Donor Spotlight: The Dolan Family

For the Dolan family, supporting food security is in their blood.
Charles “Bud” Dolan was one of the first supporters of Our Neighbors' Table, volunteering at the weekly meal a year after the organization was founded in 1992. Mary, his wife, supported the organization through donations, particularly items like diapers and food for babies.
And while each has passed, their legacies live on through their children and grandchildren. 
"Both experienced food insecurity growing up, and for them it was very personal and they wanted to make a difference," says Charlene McDonald, their daughter.
​Today, Charlene Dolan and her husband John MacDonald, of Amesbury, and their family are among ONT's biggest supporters, donating to the annual campaign and Sponsoring and Serving at the weekly meal. Charlene has also named ONT a beneficiary in her estate plan, a very tax-efficient way to leave money to a non-profit.
Her children, John and Charlene MacDonald, both volunteered for ONT since they were kids and still hold ONT near and dear to their hearts.
"It was important to my parents that we appreciated what we had and didn't take things for granted," Charlene says. "Same for my children - they know other people need to be supported."
The Dolans have provided additional support for the Seacoast Regional Food Hub, which will expand infrastructure to help more people in need.
"The fact that it extends the services to a much larger group and gives us the opportunity to bring in more resources is huge," Charlene says. "Having central distribution will make a big difference."

Donate Today!

The Dolan/MacDonald Family

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Save the Date! Annual Breakfast Tuesday, October 22

The Annual Breakfast is returning to the Blue Ocean Event Center this year! Join us on Tuesday, October 22, from 7:30-9:00 am to learn more about the growing need and how we are mobilizing our communities to create a food secure region! ​

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ONT Welcomes New Staff

Uzma Akhtar

Cainan Santana

As we scale our work to meet the growing needs of the region, we have added new members to our staff in recent months.
Our new team members include:

• Uzma Akhtar, Associate Director of Supply Chain & Logistics, will lead our warehouse team and manage our food supply
• Cainan Santana, Warehouse Assistant, supports our warehouse operations

We are currently hiring for a part-time Market Supervisor. Want to join a small team making a big impact? Learn more on or Job Opportunities page!

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The 'Mayor of the Meal' Honored for Service

Our own Linda Kelly was one of this year's honorees  at the Yankee Homecoming Generations of Giving Recognition Ceremony. Linda has volunteered with ONT for the past eight years, stood with us through the pandemic and is now a staple at our weekly Community Meal, where she is known as "The Mayor of the Meal." 
Linda embodies our mission  to serve with kindness and dignity. We have a village of more than 500 active volunteers who want to make sure every neighbor has enough to eat every day. Join us! 

Volunteer Here!

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Community Steps Up for Trail to Table

On Sunday, July 21, we held the first-ever Trail to Table walk, bringing out more than 100 guests on a beautiful summer morning for a 1-mile stroll on the Salisbury rail trail and an array of family activities, music, raffles and more.
Thank you to everyone who contributed. Want to find out how you can support your neighbors?
Visit ourneighborstable.org/how-you-can-help.

Food Hub Showing Early Potential

There is still work to do, but the Seacoast Regional Food Hub is already showing how it can expand resources for our region by making Greater Boston Food Bank distribution more efficient and capturing surplus food that previously could not be stored.
Community investment is vital to this project if it’s going to reach its potential. 
Learn more at 
ourneighborstable.org/foodhub.

Small Steps to Keep Every Neighbor Fed

What can you do to support your neighbor in need?
Stay Informed
"Like" us on Facebook or Instagram!
Donate
$1 buys 1 meal
Volunteer
at our market, meal or warehouse
Sponsor & Serve
at the meal or market
​Get involved by clicking here!