GEORGETOWN – With estimates that as many as 800 residents, or 9 percent of this town’s population, may feel insecure about their or their family’s next meal, Our Neighbors’ Table (ONT) has begun studying how it can deliver food here.
“There are probably more people than that,” said ONT executive director Lyndsey Haight.
Haight brought her team to the First Parish Church last week to meet with 20 residents as the first step toward bringing its regional food delivery here. ONT, which operates free grocery stores in Amesbury and Salisbury, serves as the hub for several local food banks in towns and cities north of Georgetown.
But it does not deliver food here.
“What a great sign that 20 people turned out for the first meeting,” said communications director Will Courtney.
Before creating the integrated food market, ONT is conducting a Community Needs Assessment in Georgetown to understand the food challenges here and how to address them. It will determine how many seniors live in the town, how many families have kids and where Georgetown residents get food and household goods now.
ONT also will be looking for a site to store and distribute food as well as for sources of local financial support and food donations.
The Council on Aging provides a small food bank with groceries and household goods and provides a daily grab-and-go lunch for seniors. It serves about 50 households.
Crosby’s Marketplace held a successful food drive last month.
In 2024, ONT registered 152 Georgetown residents visited its markets in Amesbury and Salisbury, which is 15 miles away. “It’s not easy for Georgetown residents to get to Salisbury and Amesbury,” said program director Greg Ezell. “We need to provide service where the customers live.”
ONT delivers throughout the region in Groveland, Merrimac, Newbury and Newburyport.
Initial costs for the Georgetown expansion will be building storage and shelving at whatever site is identified. ONT, working with the Greater Boston Food Bank, will bear the cost of the food itself. It pays for milk and eggs and some fresh foods that the GBFB does not. ♦
