LYNN — During the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Lynn Coalition has delivered food to hundreds of struggling families, with a particular focus on homes that cannot access a food pantry.
“We help single parents, disabled people, the elderly, COVID positive people, immunocompromised people,” said New Lynn Coalition organizer Neil Whittredge. “It’s really important that we get the food out to them so that less people go out and potentially contract COVID.”
The food aid program is staffed by volunteers who sort food, make calls and deliver donations.
“We have a great core team,” said Whittredge. “They show up every week and they put in the work.”
Jobita Mao, a Lynn English High School graduate, supports the program as a caller, contacting families to let them know when their deliveries are arriving.
“For me it’s important to give back,” said Mao. “People are just happy that someone is talking to them in their language and that they know that someone’s there for them.”
Volunteers not fluent in Spanish are given a list of basic Spanish phrases like “your food is here (Su comida esta aqui),” and “I’m leaving the food on your porch (Estoy dejando la comida en su porche).”
“There are a lot of people who have needs, now more than ever, with the pandemic and people losing their jobs,” said Mao. “It’s just a tough spot. There are a lot of continuous rounds of unknowns.”
“Everyone’s always excited,” said Michael Montero, who volunteers weekly as a driver. “You’d be surprised how much a box of food can change somebody’s mood.”
“It’s really not that hard — you get a list, you go to the address and you drop it off. It’s not hard work but it goes a long way,” said Montero, who recommended that other people volunteer for the effort.
The program was originally created in the summer of 2019 by the North Shore Labor Council, a Lynn-based coalition of more than 50 local unions, under coordinator Katie Cohen, and NorthShore Juneteenth Association, a non-profit which creates programming and events to celebrate African-American culture. The effort has continued with the New Lynn Coalition under the leadership of Whittredge, who serves as a full-time director.
Several North Shore Labor Council board members — Bob Lennon, Marjie Crosby and Fuzzy Herrick — and other union retirees have continued to deliver food each week.
The program, which is funded by grants and donations, has grown during the pandemic and now includes approximately 600 families, 80 to 250 of whom receive food each week.
This Thursday, using My Brother’s Table on Willow Street as a base of operations, the coalition delivered 120 bags of groceries to Lynn homes.
The group’s largest drive was on Christmas Eve when the Franco-American War Veterans allowed them to use its parking lot. Volunteers were able to deliver food to more than 300 homes.
The New Lynn Coalition, a group of community organizations with the mission of organizing the Lynn working class, is currently seeking volunteers and donations to pay staff and rent its delivery trucks each week.
People can donate to the program by visiting the donation page of the New Lynn Coalition website.
Guthrie Scrimgeour can be reached at [email protected].
