Gather food pantry has been operating out of Portsmouth since 1816.
This past January, Anne Hayes, executive director of Gather says they saw the highest demand ever for food through their market pantry, serving roughly 2,350 people. She said it’s the continuation of a trend in recent years with more and more families seeking out the pantry’s services.
“Obviously things changed pretty dramatically with COVID, and then the need has continued to increase,” Hayes said.
It doesn’t help that pandemic-era services like additional supplemental nutritional funds and the child tax care credit are no longer available, she said.
Gather’s mobile food truck operations also had a busy January, setting a record as one of the highest months people have used their services.
Hayes said the cost of food and the Seacoast's expensive housing market are contributing factors.
The mobile food truck, for example, has been making deliveries to senior housing complexes.
“We're sending the bus out to more low income senior housing complexes to provide food, like right on site, because we know seniors are on fixed incomes,” she said. “All those folks are on fixed incomes and they're definitely getting squeezed.”
The food pantry serves several Seacoast communities beyond Portsmouth, including Dover, Farmington, Somersworth, Hampton and Hampton Falls.
Hayes said they’re trying to meet people where they are.
“We try to be a really low barrier to people because there's so many things that require them to jump through so many hoops,” Hayes said. “We're trying to make life easier for people who are living on that edge.”
The food pantry is usually open Monday to Thursday but Hayes said they're going to start opening on Fridays, too, to meet the rising demand.
A year ago, when Hayes started working at Gather, she said they saw maybe 35 to 40 people per day at the pantry. Now, on a slow day they see roughly 60 people, some representing entire families so they’re serving more than just the people who walk through the door.
For people who want to help, she said monetary donations and volunteers are welcome.
