In the city of Lawrence, 84% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch – meaning more than three quarters of our students and their families face food insecurity. While these students are provided food during the school day, for many this is their only source of nutrition and once they leave school, they have limited access to healthy food choices. At the YMCA, we aim to fill this gap and increase access to healthy foods while the children are not in school.

Food Pantry: Through a partnership with the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, we purchase food at low cost from Food Bank, supplemented with donations, in order to provide bags of food to children and their families on weekends. Families are invited to choose the food that they prefer from the healthy options that are available.

Meals for Teens: Each weeknight, dinner is offered to teens in our YMCA programs. The daily suppers provide teens with time for fellowship as teens sit together, without phones, to eat and connect. By end of last school year, we served 70+ teens daily, the number continues to rise.

Your gift will provide increased access to healthy food choices to our kids and their families by allowing us to purchase more food and personal items and increase outreach and serve more families.  To make a financial contribution, please click here or mail to the Lawrence YMCA at 40 Lawrence Street. Thank you for your support.

To donate food or toiletries, please contact Cathy Redard at credard@mvymca.org or deliver to the Lawrence YMCA at 40 Lawrence Street. Below is a list of needed items:

On behalf of the children and adults we serve, thank you for your support of the Merrimack Valley YMCA.

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