The residents and businesses in town, and some surrounding businesses as well, have donated and kept us going for four years. I think that’s amazing — the charity we have here in Portsmouth.”

Mary Ann Crittenden, president of St. John’s Lodge Food Bank

PORTSMOUTH — When it came to honoring its Business of the Year for 2024, the Portsmouth Business Association (PBA) didn’t choose a restaurant, car repair shop, gift store, or hair salon. 

Instead, it selected an organization that’s in the business of making sure needy families and individuals from the local area don’t go hungry — the St. John’s Lodge Food Bank on Sprague Street.

Mary Ann Crittenden, president of the food pantry, graciously accepted the honor from the PBA during its annual meeting Sept. 12 at Greenvale Vineyards.

“We are not funded by anybody,” Crittenden said. “The residents and businesses in town, and some surrounding businesses as well, have donated and kept us going for four years. I think that’s amazing — the charity we have here in Portsmouth.”

The pantry serves anywhere from 110 to 130 families — about 400 to 500 individuals — every week, she said.

“And we’re open only two days — Wednesdays, 10 to 4, and Fridays, 10 to 4. It’s overwhelming, sometimes, to try and serve everybody,” she said, adding that the pantry offers not only non-perishables, but fresh vegetables as often as possible.

“We took it over after COVID, when the town obviously ran out of funds. We took it on and again, the residents of Portsmouth jumped to the rally and helped us feed all those people. It’s increased every year, and that’s to be expected with the state of the union being the way it is,” Crittenden said.

Close to half of the food bank’s clients are senior citizens living on a fixed income, she said. It’s for anyone “who’s worked your whole life and you cannot live on what you lived on 50 years ago.”

The goal is to help a family of four get through the week. “That comes out to about 12 meals for the week,” she said. The more cash donations the pantry can collect, “the more bags we can get out there,” said Crittenden, adding the goal is to expand more and to offer more fresh foods.

To help on that end, BankNewport presented the pantry with a $1,500 donation at the PBA meeting. Clements’ Marketplace donated another $250, which the PBA said it will match.

“For Thanksgiving and Christmas, we like to ramp up our donations and ask for specific items. We would ask for gift cards, too,” said Marcella Bauer, the pantry’s outreach coordinator.

Crittenden said the food bank will soon be undergoing a rebranding, and asked residents to stay tuned.

How to donate

The St. John’s Lodge Food Bank, 81 Sprague St., is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Wednesdays. Enter the marked lane and a volunteer will come out to your car to assist you. All residents are welcome.

Food and financial donations can be made in person during operating hours. Financial donations also can be made online by visiting www.stjohnslodgeno1.org/foodbank.

For more information, call 683-3674 or e-mail stjohns1foodbank@gmail.com.