NASHUA – Thirteen food pantries located in Nashua and the surrounding towns will receive a bounty of food donations during the first week in June thanks to United Way of Greater Nashua’s annual “Kevin Slattery Memorial Food Drive”. This year’s drive, created in memory of long-time United Way board member Kevin Slattery, will take place on June 3rd and 4th from 10am to 2pm at 10 local stores each day. The issues of food insecurity and homelessness were close to Kevin Slattery’s heart and the drive was created to honor his life-long commitment to serving the community.

United Way of Greater Nashua is hoping that 100 volunteers sign up to help make this drive a success. Individual volunteers and volunteer groups from local faith communities, schools, and charitable organizations are encouraged to help collect United Way’s target amount of 2000 lbs. of food donations. Volunteers may register at tinyurl.com/KSFoodDrive or contact them directly at info@unitedwaynashua.org or (603)882-4011.

Volunteers for this project will ask interested shoppers to consider purchasing extra food to donate to the drive. Up to 8 volunteers will be assigned to collect donations of food and hygiene items at each store. Some of the nonperishable Items needed include canned soup, pasta, tomato sauce, crackers, shampoo, toothpaste, peanut butter, coffee, and rice.

According to the charitable organization, Feeding America, 1 in 15 people in New Hampshire are facing hunger. Their website indicates that this comes to 93,940 food-insecure people in New Hampshire with 21,670 of being children.

This drive is one of United Way of Greater Nashua’s many projects fighting food insecurity in our region. United Way works with Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter to provide free fresh food to residents in Nashua neighborhoods at their daily “Pop-Up Pantries”. United Way also holds smaller-scale weekly food drives at various stores around the area and offers free volunteer-driven grocery delivery to homebound people from food pantries.

Those interested in donating food to the drive may do so at the following stores on June 3rd and 4th between 10am and 2pm:

Hannaford Nashua

Hannaford Hudson

Homestead Grocery (Amherst)

State Line Convenience Mart (Brookline)

House By the Side of the Road Convenience (Wilton)

Jeanotte’s Market (Nashua)

Shaw’s DW Highway Nashua

Shaw’s Main Street Nashua

Shaw’s Milford

Shaw’s North Merrimack

The food and personal hygiene supplies collected at this drive will go to the following food pantries serving Greater Nashua residents:

Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter

End 68 Hours of Hunger Nashua

Corpus Christi Food Pantry

St. Joseph Hospital Employee Pantry

Southern NH Rescue Mission

Greater Nashua Mental Health

St. John Neumann Food Pantry

St. James United Methodist Food Pantry

SHARE Outreach

Hudson Food Pantry

Open Cupboard Food Pantry

Rivier University Student Pantry

Nashua Community College Student Pantry

For more information about this project please contact United Way at info@unitedwaynashua.org or (603)882-4011.

United Way of Greater Nashua is an independent 510(c)3 nonprofit founded in 1929 to serve the residents of Greater Nashua. Its mission is to fight for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community. United Way of Greater Nashua has received GuideStar and Charity Navigator’s top ratings for accountability, transparency, and financial management. For more information or to get involved as a donor or volunteer, please email United Way of Greater Nashua at, info@unitedwaynashua.org or visit their website at www.unitedwaynashua.org.