LETTER: Thank You from the Food Pantry

Scouting for Food was a huge success; more than 6,000 pounds of food collected.

The Northborough Food Pantry would like to thank all those who helped make the Scouting for Food drive a success this year. Every year the boy scouts, girl scouts, and venture scouts work together with their adult leaders to organize this drive for the pantry. They drop off bags to every house in Northborough, and pick them up the following Saturday. They bring the stuffed bags to the town hall where together they unpack the bags, organize the food, stock the pantry and clean up. This year we had a record amount of food collected, thanks to the generosity of the Northborough community. The scouts collected over 6,000 pounds of food, totaling over 14,000 items. The shelves in the pantry are stocked high with pasta, rice, soup, peanut butter…

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Scouts Bring In Record Donations for Food Pantry

The scouts were out on Saturday, picking up food from Northborough residents for the annual food pantry drive.

Northborough residents stepped up to the table again, helping to put food on the table for many who are struggling right now. This past Saturday, dozens of boy, girl and Venture scouts, along with leaders and volunteers, picked up donated bags of food left out by residents in the annual Scouting for Food to benefit the Northborough Food Pantry. The drive brought in a record amount of 14,000 items, said Sarah Rothery, co-director of the pantry. The scouts and volunteers picked up the items from households, and then sorted them, bringing them to the pantry, which is now filled to capacity. "The drive brought in cereal, pasta, rice, canned goods, snack foods, condiments and other items that the food pantry makes available to the clients who …

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LETTER: Thank You from the Food Pantry

The Food Pantry has seen a steady increase in donations, and gives a heartfelt thank you to the community.

In recent months, the Northborough Food Pantry has seen a steady increase in the number of families utilizing the pantry. At the same time, we have experienced a large decrease in the amount of donated food we received, resulting in empty shelves at the pantry. Last month, the word got out (through newspaper articles, Facebook, word of mouth, etc.) that we were in need of food donations. The community’s reaction has been overwhelming! Local businesses, clubs, organizations, neighborhoods, and individuals have responded with food and financial donations steadily coming into the pantry. On behalf of all the families we serve at the Northborough Food Pantry, we would like to thank the following for their generosity: AREVA Corp. in Marlboro …

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Northborough Pantry Low on Food

Demand is up, and supplies are down, at the Northborough Food Pantry. Can you help?

"The food pantry is in dire need of donations for its shelves," remarked Leslie Rutan at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting. Sarah Rothery, co-director for the Northborough Food Pantry, confirmed the need. Right now, she said, the pantry is low on food and "the demand has continued to rise over the past year and during the summer, donations of food decrease substantially." The pantry serves more than 75 families each week. While several annual drives (including one hosted by the 4-H Club, a May drive led by the post office, and another at Thanksgiving led by the Boy Scouts) stocks the shelves, and the community gardeners and churches donate year-round, each year the pantry sees what has become a natural drop-off in donations. Rothery …

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Jamie Lasorsa

4:06 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012

Project Jay Fitness will also be taking donations for the Northborough Food Pantry during our OPEN HOUSE event on Sunday October 14th from 9am-5pm.   more ›

Contributor's Corner: Cooking Matters for Food Pantry

A six-week cooking class is being taught to clients of the Northborough Food Pantry.

The Cooking Matters class is underway at the Northborough Historical Society. Each Tuesday night for six weeks, low-income families who use the resources of the Northborough Food Pantry learn nutrition and cooking skills taught by coordinator Jessica Maillet. "The Northborough Food Pantry is grateful to the Metrowest Health Foundation and to Cooking Matters Coordinator Jessica Maillet for funding and organizing this important program," said Sarah Rothery, co-director of the pantry.  

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Northborough Passings

Longtime Food Pantry Volunteer Passes Away

This Natick native and Westborough resident volunteered at food pantries across the state, including Northborough.

Eileen (MacIntosh) Capobianco, formerly of Natick, died Sunday June 24, 2012 at her home in Westborough. Capobianco was a longtime volunteer at many nonprofits, namely food pantries. She was a longtime volunteer at the Northborough Food Pantry, staffing the pantry every Wednesday morning and making reminder calls to the volunteers about their schedules. "Eileen went out of her way to help clients feel welcome at the pantry and to help them find the specific food item they were looking for," said Sarah Rothery, director at the Northborough Food Pantry. "She had a smile and friendly word for each client. I worked with her for several years and enjoyed her stories about Nova Scotia and marveled at her energy! Her family has asked that …

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Stamping Out Hunger: Making It Easy to Give

It's as easy as putting out the mail.

Now, this drive is an easy one. As easy as putting out the mail. It's even easier, because you don't need a stamp. On Saturday, May 12, Northborough mail carriers join in the effort to Stamp Out Hunger, a nationwide effort to combat hunger. Letter carriers pick up non-perishable donations that are left out in, or near, the mailbox on that Saturday. The Northborough post office has been participating in Stamp Out Hunger for more than ten years, delivering the food to the Northborough Food Pantry. "All of the food is delivered to the Northborough Food Pantry on Saturday," said Food Pantry Director Sarah Rothery. "Last year, we took in less food than previous years; we are hoping to do better-our pantry is busier than ever, serving 70 …

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Helping Hands Donates to the Food Pantry

The Northborough Hands Association voted unanimously to make a sizable contribution to the Northborough Food Pantry.

Submitted by Heather Capes Northborough Helping Hands Association, a local nonprofit volunteer association, voted unanimously to make two significant monetary donations to the Northborough community during its first annual meeting of 2012. During this year’s annual meeting it was brought to the attention of the group that both the Northborough Food Pantry and Trinity Free Medical Program Pharmacy (a subset of the food pantry) were in need of monetary donations due to the increasing needs of the community. The first donation was for $2,000 to the Trinity Free Medical Program Pharmacy. Trinity supplies free over-the-counter (OTC) medications and counseling relative to those medications in partnership with the Food Pantry. The second donation…

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Cooking at the High School for the Homeless [Video]

Students at Algonquin High School spent Valentine's Day preparing a meal for families in transition living in Northborough.

Valentine's Day, because you've been programmed to think this way, has long been about showing your love with flowers, candy and a card. That's all well and good. But this Valentine's Day, through a collaboration between Harvard Pilgrim, the Northborough Food Pantry and Algonquin Regional High School — and a little help from Northborough Patch — the day was about showing some love to the community. On Tuesday, Susan Halpin's class whipped up a more involved recipe, and for a larger number of people, than usual, and spiced it up in style. Halpin, who also sits on the advisory board for the Food Pantry, was impressed by the students' ability to follow through with the recipe, and coordinate the shipments. In the room next door, Candice …

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Beth Finch McCarthy

10:28 am on Friday, February 17, 2012

Later that day, I saw all the packed Wegman's bags lined up and ready to go. You could have actually felt the love in the Northborough Food Pantry from all the people who helped to put warmth in our transitional families' Valentine's Day. Thank you all.   more ›

Turkey Trotted for the Pantry

The Turkey Trot on Thursday morning raised more than $1,000 for the Northborough Food Pantry.

On Thanksgiving morning, 64 runners raised more than $1,000 in Northborough's fourth annual Turkey Trot. Hosted by Michael and Rita Matraia (who owns Core Connection), this 5K starts and ends at their home on Colby Street. The fourth annual, the race was inspired when Rita and Maggie Kosovsky ran with some friends simply because "there was no organized 5K."  "Then I started asking for people to bring food for the pantry," said Rita, "and this year, I asked for monetary donations to the Northborough Food Pantry. It went from about 20 runners to 64."

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