The Community Kitchen

We Are a Community of Givers…….

Everywhere you look someone is raising funds, collecting food, donating their time to serve meals or they’re delivering food boxes to those in need. In these uncertain times The Community Kitchen has fared well, thanks in large part to the generosity of local donors. However, we continue to need your vital help as new individuals and families come to us for help.

The Community Kitchen’s Executive Director

New Executive Director Sarah Harpster…

I am humbled to take a leadership role in such a beloved community organization dedicated to strengthening food security for everyone in the Monadnock region. By the time I joined the TCK staff as the first Gleaning Coordinator in 2013, I had experienced a variety of employment and educational adventures in search of a fulfilling career. Little did I know that I had landed in the place that would nurture my personal and professional evolution and focus my energies on the vastly complex, important, and inspiring world of food systems.

Please read our latest Newsletter for more information and we hope you come in to meet Sarah, if you haven’t already…..please click on the image to read

Corona Virus Updates for the Hot Meals and Food Pantry Distribution

In an effort to keep everyone safe, we have instituted a change in our Hot Meals and Pantry Programs:

Hot Meals: evening meals are served as take-out

Monday through Friday from 5pm – 6:20pm
Lunch on Sunday from 11am -12noon.

Pantry hours will stay the same:
Wednesday- Drive Thru 12.30-5.30pm
Thursday- Walk Thru 11.30 am – 4pm
Any questions please call 603 352 3200

On Wednesdays, pantry clients will continue to check in at the front door of the building and will then be directed to the back door where they will pick up their food. Pre-packed bags of non-perishable food items, bread, meat and some produce will be distributed.

On Thursdays, pantry clients will enter the building wearing a mask. They will then check in at the first window and then walk through the building making choices from the same available food as Wednesday. Please bring bags and boxes to carry your food home.

New guests wishing to register will be given a registration form and will be asked to bring proof of residency, income and date of birth for household members, the following week.

Donate now to The Community Kitchen using Paypal

The Community Kitchen stands in solidarity

The Community Kitchen stands in solidarity with people of color and other historically marginalized communities in the fight for equality, social reform and justice in the wake of recent incidents of violence against people of color including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others. . . . Read More>

The Community Kitchen Welcomes You.

RAISE FUNDS/ GIVE FOOD

Each year we have wonderful individuals and organizations who create a fundraiser or food drive for us. Click image to learn how.

GLEANING

There is an abundance of local gardens that offer fresh produce every summer to The Community Kitchen. We always need volunteers to help glean the vegetables. Learn how by clicking the image.

VOLUNTEERING

Volunteers are one of the most important parts of running The Community Kitchen. Click the image to learn how to become a volunteer.

Gleaning For The Community Kitchen

The Gleaning Project was initiated in 2013 as one of six regional gleaning projects across the state of NH, initiated with funding from the You Have Our Trust Fund.
Over the years, over twenty commercial farms in the county have donated produce either after it has been harvested or directly from the field, greenhouse, or orchard, where crews of volunteers gather to harvest crops that range from baby salad greens to sweet corn to apples. Gleaners also collect products at the end of farmer’s market days, while home gardeners and community gardeners donate their garden extras or their crops that were grown specifically to feed their neighbors in need. In all, the community has donated over 250,000 pounds of fresh local produce to support Cheshire County residents facing food insecurity in the course of eight seasons.

A year into the Covid 19 pandemic, there have been a number of impacts on the global food system that have reverberated across New Hampshire. Food insecurity has doubled over 2019 rates to impact 1 in 7 residents in the state. Meanwhile, the price of groceries in the US has risen 3.5% over the same year as food supplies have been tight. At The Community Kitchen, traditional sources of food donations were also more limited after the pandemic hit, while local farms saw a welcome increase in demand for their products and were therefore left with less product available for gleaning.

As we approach the 2021 season, we have a year of experience with implementing Covid-safe opportunities for our gleaning volunteers and we expect the need for gleaning to return to traditional levels as local producers adjust to higher demands. If patterns of food insecurity reflect those from prior economic upheavals, we can also expect the need to remain high through 2021 and probably the following few years.