Upcoming Closures!
The Newton Food Pantry will be closed on Wednesday, April 29 and Thursday, April 30.
This January we are thrilled to celebrate the three-year anniversary of the Kids’ Bags program. Launched in January 2021, by long-time volunteer Marilyn Crone along with help from volunteers Bashie Young and Ann Ritchie, this program offers our youngest clients a variety of child-friendly snack foods and drinks to enjoy during the week — both at school and at home.
The Kids’ Bags program was created during the early pandemic months by twelve volunteers who got together, five or six at a time, on a monthly basis to prepare 200–250 bags. Now, over 50 active volunteers of all ages, on a rotating basis, meet one Saturday morning per month to make 500–600 bags! Thanks to these committed volunteers, each child in every client family receives a Kids’ Bag on Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Newton Food Pantry.
According to Marilyn, who continues to lead the Kids’ Bags program, volunteers have produced approximately 35,500 bags since the program’s inception. In 2023 alone, 7,850 bags were created. This includes 6,600 bags produced on Saturdays along with another 1,250 that were generously donated by individuals, families, schools and social and religious organizations in our community. So far they have already made 600 bags in January 2024!
The program also reaches children in need beyond the Newton Food Pantry through collaborations with community organizations. For example, last year Client & Volunteer Engagement Manager, Aimee Lambert, connected with Newton Public Schools and Family Access to distribute 400+ bags to families in need. Also, several community organizations, such as Working Toward a Change, make Kids’ Bags monthly and deliver them to the Newton Community freedge on Watertown Street.
We are grateful to our volunteers for their continued dedication to this important and impactful program. To celebrate this three-year milestone, on January 6th our Kids’ Bag Chair, Marilyn, hosted a celebratory social event for Kids’ Bags volunteers. More than 45 volunteers attended and, you guessed it…they made another 500 Kids’ Bags! Click here for more information about the Kids’ Bags program and how you or your organization can participate.