When the COVID pandemic upended the economy in 2020, food pantries and soup kitchens found themselves facing extraordinary surges in demand for their services. In Massachusetts, the number of households experiencing food insecurity rose from one in five in 2019, to one in three by 2021, according to the Greater Boston Food Bank.
For the food insecurity organizations of the North Shore, this sudden growth in need offered major challenges. But it also drove them to expand, refine, and innovate their operations in ways that have made them stronger and more effective today as food insecurity continues at historically high levels.
“We have seen a 30 percent increase in requests for food assistance over the same period last year,” says Julie LaFontaine, president of The Open Door, a food insecurity organization based in Gloucester and also serving Rockport, Manchester, Ipswich, Essex, Hamilton, Wenham, Boxford, Rowley, and Topsfield (plus mobile locations in Danvers and Lynn). “We are all reaching to meet an increased need driven by the high cost of living and the high cost of food.”
The Open Door, Gloucester
The Open Door was already planning a renovation to its main Gloucester facility when COVID struck and it became more important to focus on the needs of the moment. The Open Door started with curbside distribution of bagged groceries, but quickly moved to an online smart inventory system that lets clients order what they need online and tracks what’s available in real time—a system still in use today.
“That really revolutionized the way we’re able to offer food,” LaFontaine says.
The delayed renovation got under way in 2022, expanding and modernizing the entire operation. Right inside the front entrance, a large window peers into the shining stainless-steel kitchen, where two parallel production lines allow staff to prepare two different meals at once. In the dining room, plentiful art adorns the walls, a strategic choice intended to signal that the building is not a stark institution, but a place for community and connection.
“We knew we wanted to have an open space with high ceilings, lots of light, art and music—all the things that make you feel like you’re coming home,” LaFontaine says.
28 Emerson Ave., Gloucester, 978-283-6776, foodpantry.org
My Brother’s Table, Lynn
Before COVID, My Brother’s Table served about 200,000 meals each year out of its Lynn dining room. In March 2020, the organization switched from in-person meals to takeout, turning its dining tables into production areas to assemble enough meals to meet skyrocketing demand. Soon, they were preparing 800,000 meals per year, then a million.
“It took over everything,” says executive director Dianne Hills.
The whole time, however, she was quietly working on a plan to renovate the space to better accommodate the community’s need. With a boost from a grant from Mass General Brigham, the organization started construction in January. The old space was gutted. The new design added clean-up friendly epoxy floors, a take-out window, an expanded production area, and hot and cold holding stations to streamline operations.
In May, My Brother’s Table opened the doors on its new dining room, welcoming guests back for in-person dining for the first time since COVID shut its doors. Diners found the walls painted in warm, soothing colors and the previous large tables replaced by two- and four-person tables to better encourage conversation.
“We wanted it to look less like a cafeteria or an institution, and more like a cozy bistro,” Hills says.
98 Willow St., Lynn, 781-595-3224, mybrotherstable.org
Salem Pantry, Salem
Robyn Burns, executive director of the Salem Pantry, was one of the first two staffers the organization ever hired as it worked to expand its small, all-volunteer operation. She started in March 2020, days before COVID brought the world to a standstill.
“We jumped right into the fray,” Burns says. “By the time 2020 wrapped up we were a totally different organization.”
Shortly after the pandemic was declared, the organization received a state grant that funded the construction of a warehouse space with a large-capacity cooler, which became a hub for receiving food from the Greater Boston Food Bank and distributing it to other area organizations. Today, some 150,000 pounds of food passes through the warehouse each month.
The pantry opened its first bricks-and-mortar location, The Market, in April 2023, designing the space to emulate the experience of shopping in a grocery store. Guests can walk through the shop, choosing what they need, rather than receiving the prebagged ration of food that many associate with food pantries. The approach reduces food waste and makes the experience more dignified, Burns says.
The organization has also begun to offer related services: It will help clients apply for SNAP benefits and has partnered with Mass General Brigham to offer weekly health services including blood pressure checks, diabetes screenings, and health education.
“We’re trying to think as creatively as we can to provide options for folks,” Burns says. “We are really trying to envision what the safety net is for food.”
47 Leavitt St., Salem, 978-552-3954, thesalempantry.org