The Salem Pantry Awarded $750K Cummings Foundation Grant

SALEM, MA — The Salem Pantry was awarded a $750,000 grant from The Cummings Foundation to help support its nutrition and food-assistance programs through the foundation's major annual grants program.

The Salem Pantry was selected as one of 150 nonprofits awarded out of 715 applicants to share in the $30 million in grants. The grant will be disbursed over the next 10 years.

In 2o23, The Salem Pantry served more than 20,000 individuals across Salem and the North Shore.

"With this grant, The Salem Pantry is positioned to continue innovating our efforts to provide fresh, nutritious food in the community to reach even more families and individuals in a manner that upholds dignity and fosters a sense of community," Salem Pantry Executive Director Robyn Burns said. "This funding will allow us to make a bigger impact in Salem and throughout the North Shore."

The funding from this grant will support programs like The Market, The Salem Pantry’s brick-and-mortar location designed to feel like a small grocery store, and The Truck, a mobile pantry vehicle that brings food directly into the community.

The Cummings $30 Million Grant Program primarily supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties, plus six communities in Norfolk County: Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, and Wellesley.

"Greater Boston is fortunate to have a robust, dedicated, and highly capable nonprofit sector that supports and enhances the community in myriad ways," Cummings Foundation executive director and trustee Joyce Vyriotes said. "The entire Cummings organization is thankful for their daily
work to help all our neighbors thrive."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)