LYNN — Zosia VanMeter founded Project Hestia, a new food pantry initiative in Lynn, with one mission in mind: to address food insecurity by providing an outdoor network of food pantries that are readily accessible across the city.
VanMeter, who is the founder and president of the Athena Project, has an extensive background in community work and leadership. Originally born in the Philippines, she came to the United States as a baby and calls Lynn home.
Her vision for Project Hestia is to provide every ward that doesn’t have a pantry already with their own dedicated food resource that is open and available at all hours of the day. The namesake is an ode to the Greek goddess, Hestia, who represents home and stability, and that’s exactly what their pantries will look to strengthen.
Rather than having just a central location that might not be realistically accessible, Project Hestia will also look to create an entire network of local pantries available at places that are already actively serving the community, such as churches. The first pantry is what VanMeter refers to as a “pilot program” to set the groundwork before they open ones in two more locations the following month.
“Food insecurity is something that we see throughout the country,” she said. “As a supplement to assist with the ongoing efforts, we look at accessibility from a different point of view. Instead of bringing (food) to them, how do we just put the resources so that they’re there?”
There will also be a kickoff event to fill the pantry at the Grace Methodist Church during the North Shore Juneteenth Black Excellence 5K event on May 16. VanMeter will be there handing out water and supporting the community, as well as accepting donations for non-perishables and canned items, including vegetables and soup, as well as baby formula and more.
“The idea of these pantries is to have the resources already available, so that instead of being reactive, we’re proactive,” VanMeter added.
