Salem Tickets $600K In Federal COVID Funds Toward Food Services

SALEM, MA — Salem targeted food pantry construction and programs, community centers, local farms and culinary training for its latest allocation of nearly $600,000 in federal COVID-19 funding.

The America Recovery Plan Act funding is intended to improve food security and enhance access to healthy and nutritious food options for those in need in the community.

"The ability for Salem residents to access healthy food is incredibly important and was identified in our ARPA surveys as one of the most critical needs facing our community at the moment," Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said. "While we are making new investments through ARPA in supporting our food security efforts, I am proud as well of the incredible work that we have undertaken over the past years to address these issues already.

"The availability of these federal resources now enables us to go even further to invest in solutions to our food security challenges."

The funding includes $94,105 to the Mack Park Food Farm for the replacement of the parking lot, drainage improvement, increased accessibility and a new pathway to its edible forest.

"The Mack Park Farm has become an important resource not just for improving food security, but also for engaging the community on sustainable growing," Matt Buchanan of the Mack Park Food Farm said. "The funding we receive will allow us to expand our growing space to provide substantially more food for Salem residents and also make accessibility improvements to ensure all residents are able to enjoy the space."

There will be $140,000 to enhance the kitchen at the The Mayor Jean Levesque Community Life Center to commercial grade.

"To be able to provide more nutrition education in collaboration with the Health Department and offer additional healthy food choices to seniors and others aligns with Salem's efforts toward food security for all," Council on Again Director Teresa Arnold said.

There will be $28,000 for Salem Food For All to support and expand programs such as "Meet and Eat" community meals, the Salem Summer Meals program for children and the Salem Pantry Mobile Market.

"Our collaborations became vitally important during the pandemic where members like Root, The Salem Pantry and Salem Public Schools partnered on mobile markets, meal deliveries and 'grab and go' meal sites to ensure that Salem's most vulnerable populations, children and older adults, were not going hungry," Kerry Murphy, Chair of Salem Food for All, said. "This ARPA funding will allow these programs to continue and expand as rising food prices continue to cause challenges for many Salem residents."

There will be $63,100 for Root culinary job training to help train at-risk and other community youth with job skills to work in the culinary and hospitality industry.

"Root is excited to continue to partner with the city of Salem to provide critical job training for local young people, to help build the workforce pipeline to support the vital and vibrant restaurant industry in the city, and address ongoing food insecurity issues in our community," Root Executive Director Allison Caffrey said.

Salem will also send $266,000 to the Salem Pantry to help construct its first brick-and-mortar storefront and to purchase a farmer's truck to enable more pop-up distributions.

(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.)