Volunteer Newsletter – August/September 2025
It’s been a busy end to summer, and we’ve got lots of news to share!
As many of you know, I was the Pantry Manager at Goshen Pantry for the past 5 years, serving our Hilltown clients on Wednesdays. We have hired a new Pantry Manager, Julia Lemieux, and I am now back at the Northampton location full-time. We are very excited to have Julia join our staff.
Julia Lemieux
Growing up on a farm in the hilltowns, I am familiar with the unique challenges of food access in our area. I’ve been fortunate in my professional career to be able to align my ethical ethos that all people deserve dignified access to fresh food with my work through developing food justice programs in the Berkshires and Franklin County for the past two decades. Food growing, preparing and sharing plays a central role across all cultures. Passing knowledge of these seedways and foodways to the next generation is vital and necessary work. When I am not serving in the pantry, I am spending time on the land with my family running our small certified organic greenhouse business in the Hilltowns. I enjoy cooking and preserving the bounty this land provides for us, and am in constant awe of the power and beauty of nature.
We have also recently hired Andy de la Torre Santoyo as our Program Coordinator. Andy has been with us for three weeks and is a wonderful addition to our staff.
Andy de la Torre Santoyo
I’m an immigrant from Mexico who grew up in the beautiful town of Jerez de Garcia Salinas, a place that taught me the importance of community, and I carry that heritage with love and humility. Since 2016, I worked in Education and Community Outreach programs that provided support to different communities in Mexico and Arizona. I have learned how indispensable it is to facilitate resources that improve the quality of life and well-being of people. I feel excited to join Northampton Survival Center to share my experiences and enrich my personal growth, as I hold a strong commitment to food justice / to secure food for everyone. A couple of simple things I enjoy are music and coffee. Working out and writing are other activities I like; however, traveling to new cities, road-trips, and national parks are my current favorites.
We are currently hiring for a BILINGUAL (SPANISH/ENGLISH) DELIVERY & CARE COORDINATOR. If you or someone you know may be interested, please go to our website northamptonsurvival.org/ LearnMore/ Employment Opportunities for more information.
We will have a team of NSC volunteers once again competing at the NEF’s 23rd Adult Spelling Bee! We’ve had a team representing the Survival Center for years and we took home the trophy one year! It’s a very, fun evening with lots of laughs and I know the teams appreciate lots of audience support . Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity
130 Pine Street, Florence
Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Competition starts at 6:00 p.m.
This family-friendly event is FREE, but attendees must register in advance on the Bombyx website. Walk-up entry will be available if we haven’t reached capacity.
—Winning word from the 2024 NEF Adult Spelling Bee
exergue (EX-urg): a space on a coin, token, or medal usually on the reverse below the central part of the design, sometimes marked off from it by a line, and often containing the date. Peering at the coin he had dug up, Jerry was shocked to see the date of 1754 in the exergue.
Food Banks and pantries are facing significant cuts in federal spending, leading to reduced food distribution and an increase in food insecurity. The cuts are occurring despite a rise in both food prices and need nationwide. One way to help is with organized food (and toiletry) drives. We are always grateful for fundraisers and community donations, large and small, that are organized on our behalf.
Sometimes we may have less inventory on our shelves due to less USDA food available from the Food Bank or as is the case this week (and some of next), the Food Bank is closed for a system upgrade. This means we will miss 6 regular pickups of food – that’s about 15,000 pounds if you were wondering! But fear not, Amy, our Warehouse Resource Manager, bulked up as much as possible beforehand. We also supplement a weekly portion of our food choices by making purchases at Aldi.
Perhaps you visited JJ’s Tavern recently.
Jersey Mike’s Subs just made a $5,000 donation to the Center, thanks to donations from the community during the shop’s opening week (plus a nice donation from the shop owners themselves). We’re so grateful for their generosity—every dollar of their donation will go directly toward providing nutritious groceries to local families!
The members of Northampton Community Rowing dropped off Breakfast From Champions—cereal, pancake mix, coffee, oatmeal, and more collected during their monthly themed food drive for the Center! (And honestly, is there a better theme than Breakfast *From* Champions? We love it.)
We love local produce donations!
Bardwell Farm
In one week, through their Carrots 2 Carrots program, Bardwell Farm donated 400 pounds of fresh, local produce, including tomatoes, broccolini, and cucumbers, to the Northampton Survival Center.
Fresh produce isn’t always easy to come by for families facing food insecurity. Too often, vegetables are among the first items to be cut from the grocery list when budgets are tight. That’s why these donations matter – they’re not just boxes of food, they’re healthy meals, fresh flavors, and essential nutrients for our friends and neighbors.
We received these beautiful carrots from UMass Extension! They’re washed and ready for distribution to clients.
I know that our volunteers love it when we have lots of fresh produce for our clients to choose from on their weekly visits to the Center. In addition to donations, we make large purchases of fresh produce 2 to 3 times a week to keep the shelves stocked.
Appreciation : Our volunteer James, who does client housing deliveries (and helps out in other ways too), wanted to pass along a couple of comments to our volunteers who do not meet our clients. James says it is wonderful to receive this gratitude, and he wanted others to know how much the work means to our clients.
McDonald House delivery: “Are you a volunteer?” “Yes, from the Survival Center.”
“Thank you. God bless you.”
At Florence housing site delivery: “You are the food angels, you should have T-shirts that say Food Angel.”
And I say All-volunteer hands help get food to our neighbors!
Volunteer Anniversaries:
August: September:
Susan W 13 years Sherry M 29 years
Kerry N (Goshen Pantry) 5 Morey P 13
Dave R 4 David P 11
Carolyn M 3 Jane M 8
Beth P 3 Marcia S 8
Susan B 2 Tim M 7
Kevin G 2 Heidi H 5
Tekla M 2 Peter E 4
Peg T 2 Jacquie F 4
Benjamin C-P 1 Tony G 4
Emily C 1 Ken J 4
Heather K 1 Jonathan K 4
Robin L 1 Michael R 4
Stephen M 1 Madin V-A 4
Suzanne M 1 Miles S 3
Beth P (Goshen and NSC) 3
Jane P 2
Adin T 2
Hermine L-W 1
John P 1
Lynn Z 1
I did a quick tally (well, I ran a report) and was not surprised that in August and September, 220 volunteers logged a total of 2,783 hours! At the current MA volunteer rate (the value of volunteer time), that is an astonishing $116,886. Even if volunteer hours were based on minimum wage, the total donated time would be worth $41,745! We are constantly amazed at the time and effort and care and kindness that our volunteers bring with them to the Center!
Volunteer Spotlight
Our volunteer Laura Chasman is having an exhibition of her work, “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”, images of art fair scenes painted on FedEx mailing boxes at the Brattleboro Museum + Art Center in Brattleboro, VT. The show runs until November 1st. And I imagine the fall foliage will be looking pretty good, so it’s well worth the drive!
This past month’s Pantry Fresh kit was a very popular Cilantro Rice Burrito Bowl.
Remember, you can click on the link below and try any of these recipes out for yourself.
Pantry Fresh recipe link
https://www.northamptonsurvival.org/pantry/fresh/
Client newsletter link
https://www.northamptonsurvival.org/pantry-digest/
Looking to sign up for open volunteer shifts?
https://app.betterimpact.com/Login/
NSC Closed Dates:
Monday, 10/13
Thursday, 11/27
Friday, 11/28
Wednesday, 12/24
Thursday, 12/25
Friday, 12/26
Thanks for reading along, and as always, please send along any questions, suggestions, points of interest, and information you’d like to share with others.
Diane Drohan
Volunteer Manager
Northampton Survival Center
Volunteer feedback/Suggestion Box