In response to the needs of our community, the Beverly Bootstraps Food Pantry was started in 1992 by the parishioners at the First Baptist Church. Since then, our services have grown tremendously to meet the ongoing needs of the community.
Food Pantry
All clients may visit the Food Pantry every 7 days to “shop” and choose the foods they enjoy from our selection of fresh produce, proteins, staple items, and extras. The Food Pantry is restocked throughout the day and clients are encouraged to come later in the day to avoid waiting in lines.
All clients must bring proof of Beverly, Manchester, Essex, Hamilton or Wenham residence (a piece of mail postmarked within the last 30 days).
Hours of Operation
Monday – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday – 1:00 pm – 6:00pm
Wednesday – 10:00 am – 6:00pm
Thursday – 10:00am – 2:00pm
New Client Registration
Monday – 9:15 am – 9:45 am
Tuesday – 12:15 pm – 12:45 pm and 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Wednesday – 9:15 am – 9:45 am and 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Thursday – 9:15 am – 9:45 am
Donations
We are accepting food donations at our 35 Park Street facility. To learn more about food donations, click here.
Kids Eat Healthy Initiative
Overview
No kid should go hungry or worry about where their next meal is coming from. As of March 2021, 20.6% of children in Essex County are food insecure and are faced with these challenges every day. Through the Kids Eat Healthy initiative, we are committed to supporting local children in need of food.
Family/Summer Food Program
We provide numerous services to address the issue of child hunger, many of which are in collaboration with our community. We are committed to supporting the entire family as the best means to ending childhood hunger.
All clients are now welcome to visit our food pantry on a weekly basis, especially families with children.
Weekend Food Program
During the school year, we partner with Beverly Public Schools to provide food to school-age children that are at extreme risk and do not have access to enough healthy food on days they are not in school such as weekends and vacation weeks.
Pre-packed bags of healthy snacks are provided to students in need on a weekly basis for them to take home over the weekends.
Food Assistance
Automated Refrigerated Food Lockers
Automated Refrigerated Food Lockers provide more convenient food for anyone in need. Food insecure community members living in Beverly, Manchester, Hamilton, Wenham and Essex are able to pick up food they’ve ordered online through Beverly Bootstraps’ SmartChoice system with 24-hour access to the lockers.
Mobile Markets
Our Mobile Markets are free, fresh farmer’s markets that promote better health and nutrition by providing eligible households with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Participants choose free, fresh produce delivered right to their neighborhood. Through these markets, we serve residents of local housing complexes and our senior citizens.
Community Meals
The Beverly Community embraces those in need of a meal by providing a free dinner every night of the week. In partnership with Root, we support the local churches and groups hosting the meals by providing the cooked food, delivering it to the meal site and providing volunteers to help prepare and serve it for several of the nightly dinners.
Senior Delivery
In a continued effort to keep this vulnerable population safe, we are delivering food to the Beverly Council on Aging twice a month to be disbursed to senior residents.
Fixin's for the Feast Thanksgiving Bags
Fixin’s for the Feast bags are filled with all the Thanksgiving fixin’s to help our neighbors in need. Each Thanksgiving, clients enjoy a pre-packed bag of all the fixin’s along with a grocery store gift card for additions to their feast!
Our goal for 2023 is to distribute 550 Fixin’s for the Feast bags!
If you would like to receive information about being involved, please sign up here >>
“What a lot of people don’t understand is that it can happen to anyone.”
– Pamela, who never anticipated needing to use the Food Pantry