Ipswich-Rowley Rotary successfully completed its annual food drive to benefit The Open Door’s Ipswich Food Pantry and is pleased to announce that 1230 pounds of food was collected in February at seven locations in Ipswich and Rowley. The Open Door staff said they appreciated both the quantity and the quality of the food donated.Since Valentine’s Day falls in February, the theme for this year’s drive was “Share the Love” for our neighbors in need. Rotary is grateful for the support of our participating drop off locations and to our friends and neighbors who donated food this year. Donations were collected at the Ipswich offices of The Institution for Savings, BankGloucester, Brookline Bank, the Ipswich YMCA, the Ipswich Public Library and North Shore 24 Fitness in Rowley.
Our commitment to “Service Above Self” and to helping improve food security and nutrition in our communities extends throughout the year. Ipswich-Rowley Rotary – with more than 70 members – collaborates with The Open Door to deliver dinners to dozens of local families weekly, and many more at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Four times each year, assisted by Ipswich High School Interact, we also serve dinner to Ipswich residents at ‘The Dinner Bell’ - a weekly Monday evening community service hosted by the Masonic Lodge. In partnership with the Ipswich Council on Aging, we host an annual Senior Lunch in the Spring, also with the invaluable help of Interact. And recently we launched “Coffee with a Rotarian”, a joint initiative with the COA that brings coffee, conversation, and companionship to homebound seniors in need of a cheerful visit. Picture here above are Ipswich Interactors at the Dinner Bell and below are the Open Door staff unloading 1230 pounds of food.