Starting Tuesday, April 19, the United Way of Nashua is opening twelve pop-up food pantries locations with 40 volunteers distributing fruits, vegetables and meat for free.
The food comes from the New Hampshire Food Bank, supported by the Greater Nashua Food Counsel, and distributed by the YMCA of Greater Nashua. Locations will be open until Oct. 28.
United Way of Nashua’s director of volunteer and community engagement Sara Ceaser, said they focused on neighborhoods where people can’t access fresh produce due to a lack of local grocery stores nearby.
“We tried to spread out in the communities, so the pantries are at a walkable distance from downtown for people who don’t have a car,” she said.
United Way of Nashua had five indoor pantries during the winter, but they have seen the need to open more outside with the summer coming up. “We saw that people needed this service at the beginning of the pandemic and are still in need now,” she said.
On average, up to 35 families can be served per location. The organization started delivering food in April 2020 to respond to more people in need of food during COVID-19. They have helped 15,000 families. People can walk into the pantries. There are no previous requirements.
The pop-up pantries will run every day from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Across New Hampshire in 2019, 119,990 people are facing hunger, according a study conducted by the charity Feeding America. Of that number, 27,980 are children.
A list of food pantry locations can be found on United Way Nashua Facebook page or call (603) 882-4011.