SALISBURY — Scores of walkers took to the trails near Our Neighbors’ Table on Sunday to help raise money for the nonprofit during its inaugural Trail to Table event.
“It was just really great to bring people onto our site to be able to see the future home of the Seacoast Food Hub,” Executive Director Lyndsey Haight said. “And, it was a great opportunity to bring new folks and to bring back opportunities for families with young children to participate.”
The event began at 9 a.m. with what Haight described as a strong turnout.
“We had over a hundred community members walking and then a bunch of volunteers,” Haight said.
Participants were able to enjoy the walk and offerings at their own pace.
“It was about a mile walk. In the middle of the summer, you take a chance on weather and we had just a beautiful day. So there were folks who got there early and walked for 45 minutes and came back and enjoyed all the activities,” ONT Communication Director Will Courtney said.
After the walk, they returned to the Salisbury market and enjoyed activities.
“We had music. We had had donuts from Angry Donut waiting for them when they got back. They had face painting, a bounce house and great raffles,” Courtney said.
Haight said they tried to have something for all ages.
“The kids got to do scavenger hunts and quizzes on the trail walk as well,” Haight said.
There were also New England Patriots alumni present on the day.
“We had Max Lane, Ronnie Lippett and Ed Toner,” Courtney said.
The money raised by Trail to Table will go directly toward supporting day-to-day operations. The nonprofit was still tabulating how much they brought in as of Tuesday but are close to their goal of $5,000.
“We’re asking for a lot of funding for the Seacoast Regional Food Hub lately, but it’s so important that people don’t forget that, you know, our markets and our programs, our meal and our SNAP clinic, all of those things are, are still operating every day and serving more and more people,” Haight said.
Regarding the Seacoast Regional Food Hub, she said they are inching closer to their campaign goal of $7.8 million so the facility can operate debt free.
“We’re still plugging along. We’re at four, just over $4.8 million right now, thanks to the latest earmark from our state legislators as part of the 2025 budget that was just announced. So in total, we got $150,000 for the hub and for our programming,” Haight said.
On top of raising funds for day-to-day operations, Haight said that a big part of what they wanted to achieve with Trail to Table was to introduce ONT to members of the community who might not have been familiar with them.
“I think in that sense it was a huge success,” Haight said.
She said they had productive conversations with many people and groups who wanted to get involved with them.
“I think that was a big benefit as well as the financial aspect,” Haight said.
She thanked key sponsors Newburyport Bank, United Family Medical Center and the Institution for Savings for their help in making the fundraiser a success
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.