Newton Pizza Spot, Area Food Delivery Service Work To Help Needy

NEWTON, MA — A portion of every Sweet Tomatoes Pizza sold through an area food delivery service will go to the Newton Food Pantry, this month.

New England Country Mart, a Chelsea-based food delivery service has chosen Newton Food Pantry to be the latest recipient of the food service's charitable"Groceries that Give" program. The food delivery service's customers nominated the food pantry as a worthy organization to raise funds for, according to a release.

Through the program the food delivery service's charity has donated more than $17,000 during the past year to local organizations and causes that reach those most in need.

"Even in affluent suburbs, thousands of families face food insecurity every single day," said New England Country Mart cofounder Elyssa Kotzen in a statement. "The Newton Food Pantry, is discretely and reliably providing a lifeline for families in crisis."

As with many food pantries across the state, the Newton Food Pantry saw a 63 percent increase in the number of grocery bags distributed to clients during the pandemic in 2020, according to a news release. Since the beginning of the pandemic, they have distributed 25,270 bags.

The pantry also started a dry food pantry for Lassell College students, in an effort to address the statistic that 50 percent of all college students consider themselves food insecure at some point.

The Newton Food Pantry is the oldest and largest of three pantries in Newton. It's nonprofit with no paid staff, serving more than 1,500 Newton residents twice a month to provide them with 10 days’ worth of groceries.

New England Country Mart has already begun donating fresh groceries to the Pantry's Newton Community Freedge weekly.

The Freedge is a collaborative, outdoor refrigerator and pantry that provides free food and personal supplies to anyone who needs them at any time of day every day of the week - similar to a free little library.

For more information on how to purchase a Sweet Tomatoes pizza and help the Newton Food Pantry see: NewEnglandCountryMart.com.