ECCF holds first briefing to connect Essex County nonprofit organizations with legislators  

By Michelle Xiarhos Curran
ECCF COMMUNICATIONS WRITER

Last year, The Salem Pantry provided 9,300 households – more than 30,000 individuals – with access to fresh, healthy food.

The organization has been a staple on the frontlines of food insecurity for years, supporting people on the North Shore who often don’t know how they’ll get their next meal on the table.

In the first half of this year, The Salem Pantry has already faced more than $700,000 in federal funding cuts, including a reduction of more than $200,000 in food delivered directly from the USDA, and the cancellation of a local food purchasing program, which empowered the pantry to buy fresh produce from local growers, who often rely on these contracts to keep their farms afloat.

“The shelves, they’re getting more and more bare and looking a lot less colorful,” said Salem Pantry Executive Director Robyn Burns.

She added that the sudden shutdown of The Daily Table, a nonprofit grocery store chain that had a footprint in Salem, has only increased the food scarcity mindset for vulnerable community members.

“When you see organizations you’ve turned to closing and reducing hours, it’s going to impact your mental health in addition to the loss of access to healthy food,” said Burns.

Burns was part of a three-person panel put together by Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) on June 4 for local legislators to learn from Essex County nonprofits how the shift in government funding is impacting their organizations. Acting as that “connective tissue” is a role ECCF President and CEO Stratton Lloyd said is critical to the foundation’s mission to support nonprofits.

“It’s so important right now to connect our local nonprofits with our local legislators,” agreed Kate Machet, ECCF’s vice president of systems initiatives and government relations. “We want to make sure this is a time and space to listen as much as we can.”

Burns was joined on the panel by leaders from two of Essex County’s Community Action Agencies: Andrew Gilroy, director of community services at LEO, Inc. in Lynn, and Nelson Butten, chief program officer at Greater Lawrence Community Action Council (GLCAC).

Forty individuals – representing 15 offices, including the federal delegation, all five of Essex County’s Senators and eight House offices – joined the call.

Members of the panel discussed how funding cuts, the draining exchange of strategic planning for constant contingency planning, a growing fear among the region’s immigrant populations, uncertainty, staff burnout and stretched capacity are all impacting their organizations’ ability to serve their communities.

“How do you keep your workforce motivated and happy while all this is happening?” asked Butten.

At GLCAC, where Butten provides programmatic oversight for the organization’s extensive programming that serves more than 33,000 individuals and children each year, concern, for now, is focused mainly on three areas: Community Services Block Grant funding and programs for both fuel assistance and childcare. Right now, the cost of childcare for two children in the Lawrence metro area is $2,332 per month, or 37% of the median income for a family of four, a percentage that far exceeds federal guidelines.

“Losing these programs will affect the whole agency,” Butten told legislators. “The bottom line is we really need these three programs, and we ask for your support.”

Gilroy from LEO Inc., in Lynn, said that it’s not just concern over the impact of actual funding cuts, but misinformation about programs rumored to be on the chopping block that are impacting services too.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about where the cuts will be,” said Gilroy, whose organization serves nearly 8,000 people in Lynn and surrounding areas each year.  “Those headlines trickle into the community and folks assume those programs aren’t available.”

Misinformation – combined with the fear continuing to spread throughout immigrant communities right now – is leading to fewer people seeking the support they need.

“We are seeing the same thing when it comes to fear of accessing services,” said Butten.

That fear goes even a step further. Gilroy told the story of a young mother, with work authorization, who had completed job training for a career as a Certified Nursing Assistant but is now too scared to enter the workforce.

“This is a fear that is impacting people trying not only to meet their basic needs but also filling roles that are so vital to our community,” he said.

“What we’re seeing isn’t just a funding shortfall— it’s also a situation that is emotional and deeply human,” said Carol Lavoie Schuster, ECCF’s vice president of community engagement.

But with all the challenges facing the sector and our communities right now, nonprofits keep showing up – and still see cause for optimism.

“We’re also seeing grassroots support popping up – faith-based organizations stepping up to deliver food where it’s needed. Seeing that is really quite heartening,” said Gilroy, though he cautioned that “one of the risks is that it’s not sustainable indefinitely.”

We saw this during COVID-19, when organizations experienced a sharp decline in volunteerism that hasn’t yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. But the pandemic had some silver linings – as most crises do – that continue to serve us in the unprecedented times we currently face.

“The relationships formed during COVID are really important right now,” said Burns, who highlighted creativity and innovation as must-haves during this moment of crisis too. “We worked closely with so many organizations and I’m really looking forward to working with everyone here to make that happen.”

Collaboration – a way of working together that ECCF wholeheartedly believes in – is one of the tools that nonprofits are really counting on right now. And given a magic wand, nonprofits would wish for more operational support and flexible resources to fund vital programs. They also say they’d benefit from increased advocacy for their work.

“I really hope that common sense and caring hearts prevail,” Butten said at the briefing. “We really need your support.”

Senator Joan Lovely, who represents the Second Essex District that includes Beverly, Danvers, Peabody and Salem, attended the briefing.

“I just want to say how grateful I am for this updated information, some of which I knew, but some I didn’t,” she said. “We’re in a crisis and we need to address it. And we’re going to do the best we can at the state level.”

“We know this isn’t a short-term thing and we are committed to doing whatever we can to help the community,” added Lloyd.