NEWBURY – The First Parish Food Pantry is hosting an open house this month to show the community its new addition to its food pantry.
A decade ago, the pantry started in a small library of the church, but quickly out-stripped that small space, as the need for food grew for families living in Newbury and Byfield, Newburyport, West Newbury, Salisbury, Rowley, Ipswich and Georgetown.
It built a 2,400-square-foot metal warehouse at the rear of the church, but even that was cramped for the dozens of volunteers and pallets of food. The addition of 780 square feet includes a large walk-in refrigerator and freezer on the building’s south end. This room also includes used shelving donated by Stop & Shop.
The original plan was that the addition would be 20 feet wide and 38 feet long. It was initially designed to be slightly longer, but was short by a foot to keep from intruding on a neighbor’s yard.
This new space will hold a huge amount of dry goods, including several stacks of bread, cereal and canned goods as well as the frozen and cold foods.
The building is now so well organized that filling an order only takes two minutes.
“It’s a time saver,” said Jane Merrow, director of the first parish food bank. The food pantry volunteers used to have to drive to Rowley to pick up frozen goods. Space was at a premium on Fridays when the volunteers crowd in to fill the orders.
“We are so blessed to have this big building,” Merrow said.
All of the exterior, the roof and the windows for the new addition are recycled metal, built by the contractor, Charlie Forrestal.
First Parish serves 750 individuals, which is about 300 households. Almost 200 families get their food delivered by the volunteers driving their own vehicles.
The open house is from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept 29 and will include refreshments, music and tours of the food pantry with the volunteers.
For more information contact the pantry at 978-358-1077 or at newburyfoodpantry.org.
