The Merrimack Valley Food Bank provides food and supplies to food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and other programs that serve individuals and families in 29 communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The Merrimack Valley Food Bank is a community-supported 501C-3 non-profit organization that provides nutritious food and personal care items to emergency feeding programs serving the low-income, homeless and hungry. We are one of four food banks in Massachusetts that serves food pantries, shelters and meal programs that in turn, serve individuals and families.
MISSION STATEMENT
The focus of the Merrimack Valley Food Bank is to help meet a person’s most profound need — adequate nutrition and freedom from hunger. Only through cooperative efforts can society initiate change develop strategies to alleviate hunger and work toward the well being of all people.
It is a basic human need to have adequate access to an environment conducive to well-being, which includes food, shelter and clothing. For most of us, food is readily available at nearby stores. The ease with which food can be acquired can make us take for granted how vital food is to our well-being.
Currently we provide food to over 140 feeding programs in 45 cities and towns in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire
To help meet a person’s most profound need — adequate nutrition and freedom from hunger. Only through cooperative efforts can society initiate change, develop strategies to alleviate hunger and work toward the well being of all people.
Food Distribution allows member agencies to shop on Tuesdays & Wednesdays each week to select nutritious, ethnically appropriate foods for the individuals and families in the communities we serve.
Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP) distributes food available through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts free of charge to member agencies serving low-income individuals and families.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (USDA/TEFAP) distributes food available through the federal government and is available to qualified member agencies.
Guy Francesschelli Food Rescue Program provides prepared and perishable foods donated by Hannaford Supermarket three days a week. We deliver it directly to pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters in Lowell, Lawrence, and Chelmsford free of charge.
Mobile Pantry is a community based program providing food and nutrition to home-bound elderly or disabled low-income individuals in the Greater Lowell Area.
Summer Lunch Program provides nutritional lunches for low-income children in Lowell through sponsored sites throughout the summer.
Community Market is a seasonal program (summer - fall) offering fresh, locally grown produce to low-income Lowell residents, as well as nutrition education and demonstrations.
Operation Nourish began in September 2011 for the purpose of providing supplemental food to children who may not have enough food to eat at home. The program focuses on providing nutritious foods, encouraging better eating habits, and promoting nutritional education and physical activity within the family. Elementary school teachers select students to participate in Operation Nourish based on whether the student receives free or subsidized USDA meals, teacher’s knowledge of the student’s home life, and student’s overall well-being. Each elementary student receives a bag of food to take home twice a month on weekends and over school vacations and holidays. A bag of food contains individual fruit and/or applesauce cups, whole grain cereals, juice boxes and shelf-stable milk, canned tuna fish or chicken, soups, snack bars, and fruits and vegetables when possible. We deliver a box of healthy snacks and/or beverages monthly to the nurse or social worker at the middle and high school Freshman Academy which they may handout to students with hunger related complaints during the school day. MVFB’s staff person delivers the bags of food to the schools, and a member of the administration places the bags in the selected students’ backpacks
For more information on these programs visit http://mvfb.org/about.html
