Additional Resources

Running a Food Drive

Food Pantries love food drives. The largest food drive each year is the National Letter Carriers food drive in May which helps many pantries stock their shelves for several months in last spring and early summer. Food drives held through out the year by school groups, businesses, community service organizations and individuals are a great way to help your local food pantry alleviate hunger in your area.

Joan Bukosky of Our Neighbor's Table in Amesbury put together this great resource, Tips for Running a Successful Food Drive. Feel free to download and customize for your organization.

Julie LaFontaine of The Open Door in Gloucester also has shared their one-pager, Tips for a Successful Food Drive. They can provide a customizable version if you'd like, here is their contact info.
 

Additional services beyond food

Many food pantries and soup kitchens offer much more than a meal. Some have job training programs, case management or affordable housing programs. Check their websites to see what else they offer. If they do not offer these services, most know organizations in the local area that do.

In addition, here are some directories that may help you locate programs in your area:

Call 2-1-1 for help with food, housing, employment, health care, counseling and more. Go to www.211.org to learn more

Project Bread has a toll-free foodsource hotline. Call 1-800-645-8333.

Find summer meal sites for kids at www.meals4kids.org

You can also learn about getting food stamps at www.gettingfoodstamps.org

Essex County Nonprofit Directory is a directory of nonprofit organizations and services in Essex County.

North Shore Portal is a directory of social services in the north shore area.