Salem Resident Named To Greater Boston Food Bank Board

SALEM, MA — Salem Parks & Recreation Commission President and former School Committee member Debbie Amaral is one of the new members of the Greater Boston Food Bank Board of Directors.

Amaral is one of the two new Board members the Food Bank has added in response to historic levels of food insecurity in the region in 2021.

"I am committed to ensuring that every child, senior and family know where their next meal is coming from and that they have access to healthy, fresh food," Amaral said. "GBFB ensures that this happens every day in the 190 cities and towns they serve in Eastern Massachusetts."

Amaral is the Chief Executive Officer of the Mystic Valley YMCA, which merged with the Medford Boys & Girls Club in 2018 to become the Medford Youth Center. In February 2020, Amaral led a partnership with the Greater Boston Food Bank and Walnut Street Center to open the Mystic Community Market in Medford.

A graduate of Drew University and Boston University, she was a member of the Salem School Committee from 2012 to 2018. She has also been a foster parent to seven children.

Massachusetts saw the greatest percentage increase in food insecurity in the country in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a 47 percent increase over 2019.

The Greater Boston Food Banks estimates Eastern Massachusetts is expected to remain 30 percent above pre-coronavirus levels for the rest of 2021.

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