A Bountiful Harvest

NEWBURY – To make Thanksgiving special, the First Parish Newbury Food Pantry had its busiest day of the year Friday, delivering and handing out turkeys along with this week’s bags of food it delivers or are picked up for 750 area households.
On the last delivery day before the holiday, 200 volunteers worked on tables built by volunteer Tracy Cody, stuffing sacks of groceries from shelves that are now full. Nearby, Dave Golner, another volunteer, handed out more than 150 turkeys from the back of a truck.
The First Parish Food Pantry wasn’t expecting such a bountiful holiday this year. Because of staff shortages and food supplies at the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), the source of food and supplies for most food banks, its shelves in the building behind the First Parish Church had been far more bare in recent weeks.
But in time for Thanksgiving, the now fully staffed GBFB came through. And thanks to an amazing number of local corporations, schools, churches, civic organizations and many individuals, the shelves at First Parish overflowed.
“We’ve never been so full,” said Jane Merrow, who heads the Newbury food bank. “We are hip deep in food. It is amazing.”
By Friday morning, cans and boxes of food lined the shelves inside the First Parish Food Bank. “It was like the story of loaves and fishes,” said Patty Doggett, another volunteer, as she filled bags for delivery.
The Lions Club, Shawseen’s in Amesbury and Shaw’s in Ipswich, all consistent food bank donors, were joined last week by a variety of companies — Atwood Machine, Sweet Paws Rescue, Port Rehab, Fuel and Club Pilates — in filling the shelves.
In addition, restaurant donors included Jersey Mike’s, Olive’s Coffee Shop and Chococoa. Schools and libraries, making donations, included the Triton Regional Schools, where First Parish has food banks; the Newburyport Montessori School, Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Governor’s Academy and the Emma Andrews Library and Newbury Town Library.
Churches that donated included the Old South Church, Belleville Congregational Church, Salisbury Methodist Church, the Unitarian Church and First Parish.
“This just shows you the type of community support we have received,” Merrow said. “We are truly Blessed.”