LYNN — Phoenix Food Hub, spearheaded by Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS), is expanding its reach to food-insecure families and individuals through collaborative grants, allowing it to partner with 10 food pantries and organizations.
The collaborative grants program is an initiative funded by Mass General Brigham. Phoenix Food Hub was awarded $125,000 this fiscal year to award to various organizations who share the mission of tackling food insecurity.
“It allows us to work with community organizations in a way that gives them the resources they need to reach populations that might not be as easily reachable without these kinds of resources, and to participate in more of the overall Phoenix Food Hub programming and its overall goals,” GLSS Senior Director of Population Health Valerie Parker Callahan said.
Ten grants were awarded in support of food distribution programs, job training initiatives, nutrition counseling, and healthy cooking classes, according to a press release from GLSS.
Parker Callahan said this is the program’s second year, adding that it received a lot more applications and there are a lot more organizations wanting to “support the Phoenix Food Hub mission” this year.
“The intent is to reach as many folks as possible who need it,” Parker Callahan said.
One of the grant recipients is the Salem Pantry, which serves an increasing number of Lynn families and individuals. The pantry is continuing to serve 3,400 Lynn families, totaling 13,175 individuals in 2024.
“As more families turn to us, we’re committed to working collaboratively and thinking innovatively with our Lynn partners to ensure food access for all,” said Robyn Burns, Executive Director of the Salem Pantry. “We’re fortunate to partner with organizations deeply connected to the Lynn community, which helps us expand our reach and impact.”
As a result of the collaboration with Phoenix Food Hub, the Salem Pantry will be beginning a mobile market with one of its locations being St. Stephen’s Church, Parker Callahan said.
The mobile market brings fresh produce, proteins, non-perishable goods and dairy products directly into the city, increasing food access for residents.
Noriss Guscott of Lynn Food Policy Council said it would be “naive” to think food insecurity stays within the lines of municipalities as he noted that organizations such as Phoenix Food Hub and the Salem Pantry serve residents across several municipalities. He added it is important to provide support to organizations doing work to support the mission of mitigating food insecurity.
“We’ve got to look at this as a regional issue and empower each other’s work,” Guscott said.
Guscott encouraged Lynn residents to engage with the Food Policy Council.
“There’s still a lot to do, and we really look forward to doing it,” he said.
Among the other grant recipients, Catholic Charities’ food pantry in Lynn was awarded a grant to enhance the capacity and efficient of its market-style food pantry; My Brother’s Table will expand its Teen Parent Meal Program, which provides food distribution and outreach to at-risk mothers in the City; and the New American Association will establish a food pantry with culturally relevant and nutritious food and hire two part-time shoppers.
Grants were also distributed to the Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry’s Mobile Market Farmers’ Truck, LEAP for Education, which will offer classes for middle school students that will combine culinary skills with community engagement, and The Food Project’s “Common Market for Good,” which will use the grant to support employing a youth-run farmers’ market with participants fully managing operations.
The Demakes Family YMCA also received a grant to teach gardening and nutrition skills to children and teens.
“There’s something for everybody,” Parker Callahan said.
