North Shore Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Karen Andreas; New Entry Sustainable Farming Project Director Jennifer Hashley and ECCF President & CEO Stratton Lloyd at the Chamber’s ‘Salute to Veterans’ Breakfast.

The foundation awards a total of $111,000 to 14 organizations serving the region’s Veterans

Beverly, Mass – New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, an initiative of the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, works to ensure that small farms – and the fresh, local food they provide – don’t disappear.

They empower new farmers, including underrepresented growers like veterans, with the training, knowledge and support they need to grow thriving businesses and feed their communities.

Now, the Beverly-based nonprofit plans to grow its support for the region’s veterans – and their families – through Veterans Growing Community, a coordinated program of local food access, veteran-led volunteer service opportunities and educational programming that will improve food security, social connection and mental health among those who have served our country.

At the North Shore Chamber of Commerce annual Salute to Veterans Breakfast on Friday, Nov. 6, Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) announced New Entry Sustainable Farming Project as its ‘Salute to Veterans’ highlighted grantee. The nonprofit is one of 14 organizations to receive a grant this month through the foundation’s Essex County Veterans Fund, a new fund publicly launched at the 2025 Chamber breakfast.

“Every nonprofit in this round of grantees is doing incredibly impactful and meaningful work,” said Amy Moran Lowe, ECCF’s vice president of programs. “What we found particularly powerful about the New Entry proposal is the intersectionality of their initiative, and the potential for systemic change for our local veterans community.”

ECCF’s $15,000 grant will support New Entry’s creation of food access resource maps for veterans, local produce distribution, volunteer service activities at farms and trails, and a speaker series focused on mental health, purpose and community engagement.

In total, ECCF is awarding $111,000 to this new cohort of grantees, which also includes:

• 22 Mohawks, founded to address a critical gap in suicide prevention for veterans and first responders, to expand its Performance and Mental Fitness Program’s direct engagement with Essex County
• Veterans Pathways New England to provide food and basic-needs assistance in the Merrimack Valley, housing stabilization and individualized resource navigation to veterans across Essex County.
• Danvers Community YMCA, to offer free or discounted memberships and wellness programs for military veterans.
• Greater Lynn Senior Services, now known as First Point Community Resources, to sustain and enhance its veterans lunch program, which provides local veterans with meaningful social connection, recognition and access to supportive resources.
• Honorable Few – Capt. J.J. Harris USMC Detachment 1302, a chapter of the Marine Corps League, to support local veterans mental health programming in commemoration of the sacrifice made by United States Marine Corps Pilot and Swampscott native, Captain Jennifer Jean Harris, who died on Feb. 7, 2007, when the CH-46 Sea Knight Helicopter she was piloting went down in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
• Horses Healing Arts Inc. in Salisbury, to expand Operation Forward Movement, its signature veteran initiative serving Essex County that gives veterans meaningful opportunities to build confidence, strengthen connections, discover their strengths and find purpose and belonging through horse-centered experiences.
• New England Center and Home for Veterans to support its Merrimack Valley Veteran Food Pantry in Haverhill, which provides nutritious food to approximately 100 Veterans each week.
• Paralyzed Veterans of America, New England Chapter, to strengthen disability-focused health and wellness support for veterans living with spinal cord injuries and disorders and other significant physical disabilities throughout Essex County.
• Peoples Food Pantry, to support the organization’s new program, Serving Those Who Served, which provides food to veterans in need in the Merrimack Valley twice a month.
• Salem State University Foundation, Inc., to strengthen the University’s Veterans and Military-Connected Student Resource Center, which coordinates educational-benefit assistance, academic and career resources, and peer and community connections for student veterans.
• The Open Door in Gloucester, for Healthy Food for Those Who Served, a partnership with Cape Ann Veterans Services that will alleviate the impact of food insecurity among veterans across Essex County.
• The Salem Pantry, to expand food access and service connections for veterans by building on its weekly Mobile Pantry stop at Salem’s Community Life Center, which overlaps with the city’s monthly Veterans Coffee, and piloting veteran resource events in Peabody with Peabody Veterans Services.
• Veterans Legal Services, to support free civil legal assistance for Essex County veterans, helping them remove barriers to economic security, stable housing, employment opportunities and healthy lives.

“These grants are a part of ECCF’s larger vision to work together to build a $5 million collective giving fund for Essex County Veterans that will be a source of grantmaking and support long into the future,” said ECCF President and CEO Stratton Loyd in his remarks at the Chamber breakfast. “We are so grateful to our donor community and the Veterans Fund advisory committee for partnering with us to make the support of these incredible organizations possible.”

More than 500 local veterans and guests gathered at Danversport for the Chamber breakfast, which included a keynote by Mike “Boots” Barker, a retired U.S. Navy Seal; the Minuteman Service Award presented to Kurt Fieldhouse, a U.S. Army veteran and founder of C2MG Builders; stirring drill performances by JROTC members from Lynn English High School, the introduction of two local WWII veterans; and ECCF’s grant presentation to New Entry Sustainable Farming Project.

At the breakfast, Cummings Properties founder Bill Cummings, a philanthropist and a veteran himself, spoke about the power of giving locally to dedicated organizations that know their neighbors and understand community need.

“That’s why I so appreciate what Essex County Community Foundation is doing through its Veterans Fund,” said Cummings. “Building a permanent source of philanthropic support for Veterans and their families recognizes that our gratitude should extend well beyond Veterans Day.”

In Massachusetts, not only are veterans facing issues with financial stability, access to health care, transportation and connection with community; 32 percent of the state’s veterans live with a disability, compared to nine percent of non-veterans. Massachusetts veterans also attain bachelor’s degrees at a significantly lower rate than non-veterans (38 percent vs. 48 percent), which can have impacts on earnings capability.

With this most recent round of funding, ECCF has granted a total of nearly $220,000 to 30 organizations supporting the region’s veterans.

“As we continue to work together, we have the collective opportunity to make a significant difference in the quality of life for the more than 25,000 people in Essex County who have served our country,” said Lowe. “ECCF’s hope is that the Essex County Veterans Fund continues to spark new ways of thinking about how to connect and leverage existing resources for a more holistic approach to supporting local veterans.”

For more information on the Essex County Veterans Fund, and to become part of our work to support Essex County veterans, please visit www.eccf.org/veterans-support/.